From HuffPo:
"A majority of American households paid no income tax in 2009. Zero. Zip. Nada. No income tax was paid by 51 percent of the households in America in 2009," (Sen. John) Cornyn (Texas) said with derision in a Senate floor speech.
"Actually, to show how out of whack things have gotten, 30 percent of American households actually made money from the tax system by way of refundable tax credits -- the earned income tax credit, among others," complained Cornyn,
I am the 30%, you Republicant cry baby. Here's a breakdown of my 2010 taxes, you tell me how much more I should be paying.
I own 2 businesses that provide employment for 30 people. They're not great jobs, they're entry level food service (though Oregon does have the 3rd highest minimum wage in the country), but they enable 30 people to pay their rent and buy food and sustain their lives. I do as much for them as I can and I work alongside them doing all the things they do (I will not ask an employee to do anything that I would not do myself, including cleaning the grease traps).
All of the following data was taken from my 2010 tax returns.
Let's start with Property taxes:
I pay 5 (five) different property taxes each and every year. I pay the real estate taxes on each of the 2 buildings I lease for my restaurants. I pay real estate taxes on my home. Then I pay a property tax (really an asset tax) on all the equipment and fixtures in each of my businesses:
real estate tax on 1st business 10,500
real estate tax on 2nd business 12,400
real estate tax residence 3,654*
asset tax on 1st business 580
asset tax on 2nd business 1,680
total property taxes 28,814
*The high property tax on my residence is the trade-off for no state sales tax. I don't mind paying my fair share but the thing that pisses me off is that the market value of my house decreased this year while the county assessment value increased. How the assessment can go up while the value goes down is a miracle of bureaucratic thinking.
Payroll taxes:
Business 1 paid a total of 39,876 in payroll taxes.
Business 2 paid a total of 51,503 in payroll taxes.
Out of that $91,379 in payroll taxes for both businesses, $32,130 was my contribution to Social Security and Medicare on behalf of my employees (that's the matching 7.65% that employers pay into SS and Medicare for you).
I paid $913 in Federal withholding.
So, in total I paid:
local property taxes: 28,814
employer contribution for SS & Medicare: 32,130
personal income taxes: 913
for a grand total of $61,944
Now let's look at my return.
My taxable income, after itemized deductions, came to $22,202 for a family of 4 (after spending $24,949 on health insurance and medical expenses. No one was sick or injured that year, that's just what it fucking costs for basic health care and a $3,000 deductible per person).
I received a $1000 tax credit for my child who is still under 17. I cannot collect the credit for my child who is 21, but whom I still support. The tax credit rose from $600 to $1,000 under Bush the second in 2003. Starting this year, that credit goes back to $500 (Why? is it suddenly cheaper to raise a child now?).
The Making Work Pay program gave me $800. This was a 2 year program from Obama under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It goes away this year.
Earned Income Credit gave us $483 dollars. The program was started under one Republican president (Ford) and expanded under another Republican president (Bush the first).
Under the (George W. Bush) tax code I owed zero income tax on my (paltry) net income. My $913 was refunded to me along with the 3 tax credits that I qualified for, putting a total of $3,196 back in my pocket.
My net 2010 contribution to the Federal Treasury and local tax coffers: $58,748
I made $22,202 last year and paid $58,748 in taxes. Tell me, Sen. Cornyn, how much more do I need to pay for you to be satisfied that I am doing my fair share for this country. I will tell you that I am ready to give more. This year, whatever my EIC is, I pledge to give that to whoever is running against you.