CTJ Report: 98% of Families Getting A Tax Break in 2009

In time for tax day, Citizen for Tax Justice releases a new fact sheet [pdf] on your federal tax bill for 2009. It's good news, for 98% of working families.

According to a recent CBS News/New York Times poll, the vast majority of Americans do not perceive that they have received a tax cut from President Obama. Asked if the President “has already raised taxes this past year,” 53 percent of those polled said that the President has “kept taxes the same,” and 24 percent think that the President has “raised taxes.” A mere 12 percent believe that the President has cut their taxes.

This is an astonishing level of misunderstanding. The truth is that the major tax cuts enacted in the 2009 economic stimulus bill actually reduced federal income taxes for tax year 2009 for 98 percent of all working families and individuals. These tax cuts saved working families and individuals an average of $1,158 on the tax returns they will file by April 15. (The median tax cut was approximately $600.) [emphasis in original]

An astonishing level of people believe any lie the Republican party tells them. A sizable chunk of them probably still believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Turning around the "tax and spend" stereotype for Democrats is going to take a long time to dislodge. Even more important to dislodge will be the persistent idea that taxes somehow aren't critical to the functioning of government, of society.

At any rate, if you've been procrastinating on completing that return, get to it. You might very well have a better outcome than you've been expecting.