Admittedly I’m trolling for comments. But seriously, did you pay less in ’09? Don’t forget all the “hidden” taxes.
Next Up: Bipartisan effort to raise fuel taxes.
The tax, which according to early estimates would be in the range of 15 cents a gallon, was conceived with the input of several oil companies, including Shell, BP and Conoco Phillips, and is being championed by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. It is shaping up as a critical but controversial piece in the efforts by Graham, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to write a climate bill that moderate Republicans could support.
But, before you accuse me of being an anti-taxer, just tell me where the missing trillions are. When it’s been accounted for, I’ll be happy to pay my fair share.
I started a business, we’ll see where it goes
Who gives a shit to the answer?
The reckless government policy since the 1980s has been to rack up big debts not paid for by our taxes.
Only a dumbass thinks the taxes he didn’t pay today is a good deal compared to the gigantic mountain of debt our government is offering on our behalf.
In a sane system, we’d require a balanced budget or a nearly balanced budget. And we have a massive trade deficit and huge corps paying no taxes.
Our current system is fine if you are so myopic as to believe tomorrow never comes.
And you if you believe tomorrow never comes you are either very old (so it is literally true) or a complete idiot.
I paid more definitely. Plus, thanks to the wonderful health care “reform”, I’ve got to lay off 5% of my employees to make up for the cost increases. Thanks Obama. You really care about small businesses and jobs. Well, at least you protect government jobs.
Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Banks
#22:
“Only a dumbass thinks the taxes he didn’t pay today is a good deal compared to the gigantic mountain of debt our government is offering on our behalf.”
Thank you.
Me? I bought firearms with my larger tax refund.
I paid 25% less in federal taxes this year and 5% more in state taxes. I’m a small business owner, so that is where the savings came from, as we took advantage of the new vehicle deductions and bought a new business truck in December. Thank you Obama!
The economy here is picking up noticeably with $600m in wind farm construction set to begin in the next year in this county alone, and oil/gas on the rise. The market is ripe in Oklahoma for some entrepreneurs in depressed areas to come in and start restaurants, grocery stores, other small businesses, etc for the workers and the people who will remain to maintain these new facilities.
ggore, #26, that wasn’t Obama, that was Congress.
Did you know that unemployment benefits are taxable income?
I paid more this year as the business is doing better. Believe me as a CPA people get screwed all year long and so do I.
But then again I think a flat tax of 12% and if that doesn’t cover the bills the feds will cut back.
This fuel tax is just another nail in the coffin of what used to be the conservative party.
I had more withheld this year than last because I made more money than last year. Stands to reason.
#3 JScott
I guess I am the rare breed of cat as I don’t care about higher taxes. The citizens of the U.S. are not paying the correct amount to balance the budget anyway. If they had all along NO ONE would notice it. Because it would be the NORM. Thanks to all the tax cutting since Reagan we are NOT paying our fair share.
I would rather have correct amounts of taxation and use that for repairing the infrastructure, securing our ports and borders and improving our communications.
But people belly ache that there are pot holes and people dying in bridge collapses and slow, expensive broadband but not PAY for it.
Whiners. If you want less taxes then don’t expect any services, security or maintenance of anything.
Basically you want to live in Sub-Sahara Africa. Good choice. Morons.
Cursor_
I got less back for 09 then I did the previous and my wife and I made less money. That tax break that took effect. Did not help at all.
Would not even buy a extra bag of groceries every month.
#10 The last republican president who decreased US debt was Nixon. Both Carter and Clinton decreased debt levels during their terms. Obama is spending a lot, but when shit really hits the fan is when you are supposed to spend a lot.
Republicans since Reagan have created the overwhelming mass of debt. What really burns me is that they did so with the intention of causing a funding crisis, not just from stupidity(although that is a factor too).
Comparisons to European tax levels are specious, because those governments provide many services ours does not. They provision health care at a much lower cost per head than does our private system. Any apples to apples comparison of taxes would lump US private insurance payments into the tax burden. Europe also has a funded integrated public transport system which the US does not.
Internationally things are moving in a decidedly post-partisan direction, and this is what that means: there is no predictive test that tells you whether any industry should be private or government run. It’s all experiential.
When the US decides, or dithers, on policy choices we should be looking at every other government and whether their choices worked/not. Of course why should we pay attention to anyone else?
The tea idiots really are idiots; it isn’t an unfair media slam. Following a simulated grassroots movement is about as derivative as you can get.
The GOP rode the country into the crapper and is now trying to rebrand itself.
in 2008 my effective federal tax rate was 25%. 2009 it was 18%. I got to write off about $10 in stock losses, moving expenses, and the .gov was nice enough to “give” me a $400 tax credit because I have a job.
I took the money and put it in the bank, where it earns a whopping 0.05% interest thanks to Wells Fargo getting a better deal at the FED discount window.
State taxes were significantly less refund, but a similar story (since Colorado uses the federal tax to figure out your tax). That went to No Agenda. Totally worth it to hear Dvorak butcher my name…
I paid less taxes. I got a federal refund for the first time in recent memory. Glenn Beck told me to send it back though, so I did.
I about 20% less Fed tax in 2009.
Interesting article here about the causes of the deficit below. The chart is cool, I wish it went back further. I was too lazy to chase down a better version, sorry.
http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/tea-party-contract-for-america-fiscal-suicide
I bought an iPad.
I find it funny when people say corporations pay taxes. You put a tax on an American corporation and all it can do is hike prices then you pay the tax when you purchase the goods or service and if you can get the product off shore and that company doesn’t pay as much corporation tax you put the American workers out of a job so tax revenues actually fall. Sweet deal.
The bottom line on corporation taxes is its just a sales tax by another name but since a company only pays that sales tax in its homeland having a high corporation tax does a dandy job of off shoring manufacturing jobs to locations with low corporation taxes.
You don’t think so? If you are charging an extra 10, 20, or 30% corporation tax that just about has to show up in the cost of the product in a big way and people do buy what costs less as long as the product is anywhere near as good. I know I do and everybody I know does. It’s called getting a good deal as opposed to getting ripped off.
At some point, enough is enough. You can’t continue to tax the shit out of people and expect them to take it.
Put in a VAT and watch even more of the economy go underground. I would then purchase everything I could with cash on the Black Market and the Feds can go fuck themselves. It happens every day.
I got back a huge refund but that was only because I sold a rental house and took an even bigger loss than what I sold the house for. For the first time ever the tax laws worked in my favor.
A refund capable of buying enough ammo to fill a garage.
“Admittedly, I’m trolling for comments.” Is this the first truly honest statement made in these blogs to date?
I worked for 6 months of the year and was on unemployment for the other 6. I have never gotten a return so big. (about 50% more compared to my average when I worked all year – Including last year w/stimulus)