

45% of Americans (rightfully) pay $0 in income tax - bconway
http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/14/pf/taxes/who_pays_income_taxes/index.htm

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quesoviejo
Rightfully? Want a reason why this country is run the way it is? This kind of
tax policy is a huge reason. We have a huge swath of people who are shielded
from the effects of poor spending and governance. In fact, they get the
benefit without any of the cost. It creates a horrible third payer situation.
Two groups (in this case non-taxpayers and big government
politicians/lobbyists) collude to take money from another group (taxpayers) to
mutually benefit themselves. Non-taxpayers get all the government benefits
they want and politicians/lobbyists get a reliable bloc of voters for their
favored policies. This nation will only survive if every last one of us has
skin in the game, including and especially our personal wealth. Why do we like
to see financial advisers disclose their personal investments before taking
their advice? It's because people have a much easier time throwing other
people's money away.

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spc476
I think this is misleading. What the article describes is that 45% of
Americans don't have to write Uncle Sam a check come April 15th, and may
expect a check _from_ Uncle Sam, due to tax withholding by their employers.

What I want to know is the percentage of Americans that receive a check from
Uncle Sam that exceeds their tax liability.

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nostromo
That's not correct. The article is indeed saying that 45% of Americans do not
pay federal income taxes, or actually make money from filing taxes.

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seats
There is no situation where you can make money from the tax system. At most
you can only enjoy cashing in on tax losses against current tax liability.

Getting a refund from your filing just means that you overpaid during the
course of the year, hence the term 'refund'.

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nostromo
Sorry, that's wrong. Because of tax credits, many people make money from the
US tax system. Here, read more:
[http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/110492/millions-of-
am...](http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/110492/millions-of-american-
taxpayers-make-money-off-federal-taxes?mod=taxes-advice_strategy)

> 15 million American households ... receive more cash from the IRS than they
> contribute in federal income taxes and employment taxes.

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seats
I stand corrected. Man that is kind of messed up.

Even if you support that net activity, which is essentially a public welfare,
it doesn't belong in the tax code.

I wonder if we'll ever see the day when all of this taxation complexity is
unwound and you can actually cleanly see how policy changes affect everyone.

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nostromo
Yeah -- it is. Like you say, many of the programs are well-meaning (education,
help for the poor, green energy) -- but would be much better served through
simple grants rather than tax credits.

