Published October 3, 2017 at 12:51 pm, Sun Sailor-Plymouth
To the Editor:
I was disappointed but unsurprised that Congressman Erik Paulsen supports the Trump tax plan. The elimination of a state tax deduction will disproportionately hurt Minnesotans. The huge giveaway to corporations that send jobs overseas hurts all Americans. The multi-billion dollar tax break for billionaires while everyone else continues to pay the same is a cynical payback to those who fund our broken election system.
The rest of the Minnesotan Republican delegation also loves the plan. We need no further proof that Republican is the party of the 1 percent, a special club which, by definition, 99 percent of us are not allowed in!
Greg Laden
Plymouth
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Links to books and other items on this page and elsewhere on Greg Ladens' blog may send you to Amazon, where I am a registered affiliate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps to fund this site.
A couple of points.
I am not so sure that other individuals (not 1%’ers) won’t benefit – but I have to wait for better numbers. I think raising the standard deduction and earned income tax credit will cause more people not to have to pay federal income taxes at all. We will see (I guess).
This is based on 2016 tax data:
The top 1% pay 39.5% of all federal income taxes.
The top 10% pay 70.9% of all federal income taxes.
The bottom 90% pay 29.1% of all federal income taxes.
The top 50% pay 97.3% of all federal income taxes.
The bottom 50% pay 2.7% of all federal income taxes.
The bottom 47% pay zero federal income taxes.
Naturally if you have a tax system in which almost 1/2 of the tax filers pay nothing, a tax break will not benefit them. By definition, a tax break only benefits those who pay federal income taxes.
Under the new plan, I believe many more will pay zero federal income taxes, due to raising the standard deduction and earned income tax credit.
I am certainly not a 1%’er and I support tax reform.
As far as I am concerned, everybody who earns money should pay something in taxes.
If you earn one dollar you should have to pay something (say 10%) in federal taxes.
What happens when more than 50 % of the voters pay no federal income taxes?
Nothing good – very unhealthy. We are headed in that direction.
The ignorant and asinine “these people pay no taxes” bit of crap is getting old. Intelligent (and decent) people realize the dishonest bit of misdirection immediately.
I didn’t say they pay no taxes. I said they don’t pay any federal income taxes.
And that is correct.
Look it up.