so many americans that don’t pay taxes
i saw this on fox news on april 15 (tax day, of course) and it came with such a positive spin i almost spun myself right off the chair. now that i’m firmly back in a chair, it’s time to comment.
But 44 million people will pay no federal taxes at all — that’s the highest number in U.S. history and it translates to 33 percent of all tax filers.
Before the Bush cuts were implemented the number of filers who paid no federal taxes was 30 million, or 23 percent of all tax filers. These numbers are much larger than those from 1980 when the revolt against federal income tax rates began.
i’m not convinced that the tax cuts are the reason we’re setting records for the number of people who don’t owe income tax. i think it might have more to do with the economy.
In addition to these 44 million zero-tax filers there are another 14 million whose incomes are so low, $20,000 or less, they are off the tax roles entirely. Add to that the dependents, children, family members and those who aren’t taxed at all — it equals 122 million Americans who live completely outside the federal tax system.
maybe it’s just my twisted sense of taxation, but wouldn’t it be… i dunno… better… if more of these people with such low incomes actually made enough money to owe taxes?
according to the department of health and human services, the 2003 federal poverty level is $8,980 for an individual and $18,400 for a family of four.