Night after night I get angry at having to hear the Big Fucking Lie

[Karmasue]

69. I wish you were right...

The very wealthy don't pay their fair share, and often pay less than we do.

The less you make, the less likely you are to be in a position to take advantage of the tax laws, which were written by tax lawyers - not economists - and tweaked by congressional representatives who respond to lobbyists, who represent big money and don't shy away from corruption.

The really lucrative tax breaks are not geared toward the average middle aged, married, working man or woman. They are not geared toward the young man or woman working to go to college, or teachers, or police officers, or firemen.

They were not written for the older person still working in order to survive, or on Social Security, or small pension. In fact many of those people don't even make enough to file a 1040 that includes a schedule A to get the benefit of even deducting a fraction (7%) of their medical costs. They get nothing but the exemption and single/married deduction.

So the cop with wife and 2 kids who makes $50,000 and rents (because he lost his house) pays tax on about $29K (after married ded and 4 exemptions of $21k). He gets no sched A because he has no mortgage so tax is around $3500. That's about 12% of his taxable income.

Many billionaires today only start with the wife and 2 kids at the same $21K ded/exempts. (It already seems askew doesn't it?) And they end up somewhere in the 1% bracket. One percent.

Now I grant you that one percent of a billion is a lot of money...but it is radically unfair taxation. Unfair not because he is wealthy, but because the cop's penny is a fair percentage of his income. Not so the 1 percenter.

In addition, the vast majority of the middle class either does their own return, or uses turbo tax or H&R Block, because they can't afford to hire the tax lawyers (remember who wrote these laws) of the very wealthy.

These are the lawyers/accountants who know, or find, all the deduction loopholes that the very wealthy use regularly that you and I can't use. And when they have used up all the legal schedule allowances, iffy deductions, and gray-area loopholes, they turn to more blatantly illicit maneuvers like off-shore accounts, hiding assets and outright illegal tax schemes.

I am not saying that because they are wealthy they all do these things. I am saying that they can do these things because they are wealthy enough to hire it done without guilt. They sign the completed tax return when their tax accountants/lawyers (who are getting a healthy fee) send it to them.

They either don't know...or don't want to know (because some are corrupt)...but it happens all the time - and by people you would never dream. Even Romney has his tax havens, and money shelters to avoid paying taxes. Yep...to avoid paying taxes. That is the ONLY reason to shelter money from the eyes of the treasury. That is the sole purpose of a tax haven.

Not because he is bad, but because he can.