Tax Code / Tax Lies

The U.S. Congress

The Republicans use terms like “tax and spend Democrats” and the Democrats use new terms like Republicons (neo conservatives) and Republicants to paint the Bush administration as an eight year period of unprecedented bungling Republican Party ineptness. This, of course, is political rhetoric from both parties used to influence voters. When it comes to the U.S. income tax code, both parties are guilty of being in the pockets of those who can influence the Congress by throwing money at them. Specifically, the very rich have influenced the U.S. tax code from the very beginning. This is a common sense effort on the part of the wealthy to reduce the effects of the tax code to erode their fortunes and to assist the wealthy to maintain (even grow) this wealth over generations. On the corporate tax side, Corporate America has succeeded in inserting so many loopholes in the corporate tax code that in some tax years, Fortune 500 companies do not pay a penny in income taxes. The main tax burden falls on middle class America. The middle class are not in position to take advantage of these loopholes.

ABC News Online carried an article on 06/15/08 by Kevin McCoy of USA Today concerning an IRS study that uncovered the fact that in 2005, 7,389 individual tax payers that had an adjusted gross income of $200,000 and above, payed no income taxes whatsoever. This was done without violating any tax laws.

In a 2004 study done by the Citizens For Tax Justice on corporate tax years 2001 through 2003, it was found that 82 companies listed in the Fortune 500, paid absolutely no tax in at least one year. Some Fortune 500 companies paid no income taxes during the entire three year period. Unisys, ITT Industries, NCR and Saks didn’t pays taxes for those three years. Among the companies that didn’t pay taxes for two years of the three years are AT&T, CSX, Reebok, Time Warner, and Caterpillar.

Read more at the websites below about these studies; and how tax avoidance by the wealthy and Corporate America are draining middle class taxpayers.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5072003&page=1

and

http://www.ctj.org/corpfed04pr.pdf

The middle class has only one way of changing how business is done in Washington. We must vote all congressional incumbents running for re-election out of office this November. Please don’t allow yourself to be swayed by the lies and non issues that both parties will use to get your vote. It is election time. The politicians will tell you everything that you want to hear and then, after they are back in office, they will go back to work for their masters (the special interest groups).

Loophole

a means of

evasion

a means of

avoidance

Monday, June 16, 2008

Tax Code / Tax Lies