Congresswoman Who Used To Receive Welfare Wants To Drug Test Rich People Who Get Tax Breaks

[SpankMe]

68. Playing semantics

Some don't see all tax decuctions as "keeping one's own money". Some tax benefits that rich people get can be viewed as a government benefit or subsidy that shifts money back to them that should have gone to the government as taxes.

Just as Republicans can claim that the cancellation of a prior tax cut is, in fact, a tax increase, some can say that the artificial reduction of a tax that should be paid is a government benefit.

Some examples:

- Dubious business deductions (like that sky box at the baseball stadium, milage for that tricked out Ford F250 that you use mostly for personal use, that $1000 dinner you used to schmooze that client to buy some of your products, etc.)

- Mortgage deduction - on a second house (i.e., that 5000 square foot behemoth in the Hamptons that you stay in for exactly one week per year.)

- Interest deduction for yacht payments. If you claim to live on your yacht - even if part time - you can deduct the interest on those yacht payments as a "mortgage" deduction.

- Swimming pool deduction. You can build a pool at your house, claim it's for medical reasons, and can deduct it if certain other requirements are met.

And the list goes on. The above examples are clearly subsidies of some form. As such, they are monies given by taxpayers back to the rich. Drug test 'em to be sure they qualify!