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BlackPhx -> RE: Joe The Plumber - A Fraud And A Tax Dodger (10/18/2008 6:35:19 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: SilverMark
So....was Joe a shill?
Any small business man worth his salt can avoid taxes better than anyone else....I promise!
M
You are correct Mark..and there are several things that are glaringly overlooked when it comes to the tax plan. Like the fact that any good accountant can pretty much ensure you are paying the minimum tax possible (even HR Block) between tax shelters, tax credits, depreciation and a myriad of other methods allowable under our hefty tax code. Part of what Obama is proposing is cleaning up of that tax code so that the average person can understand it and not pay more than they have to. Another fact that is glossed over is that, that, is on NET income, after you have paid the bills, paid the employees, poured some of the profits back into the company to grow it (expansion) and paid your stock holders dividends (if any) or what ever else your accountant suggests. To hit that 250,000 threshold with a small business you need to be making nearly 3 times that amount before payouts.
Many small business people, the mom and pop shops, the joe the plumbers etc..don't do those kinds of numbers in this market. Especially in this market. Architects are starving, builders have a glut on their hands that comes off their taxes in depreciation while houses aren't selling, Grocery stores get credit for every loss they take on spoiling produce, and returns to manufacturer. And yes Walmart will have to pay 39% on it's taxes instead of 36% but the majority of Mom and Pops out there? Probably not.
We all want our Dams (many of them are beginning to break down and limestone is leeching out of them), We want our Military and the benefits for the veterans, we want our levees, education, social security, FDA, FHA, USDA, NASA, Grants and other programs that channel research out of the private sector and into the public good because Big Pharm charges us an arm and a leg and rarely covers the orphan diseases. We want FEMA to be there when our insurance companies we PAY to be there aren't. But each and every one of these programs costs, at not only the Federal level but the local one as well. From Firefighters to Correctional Officers to Government workers it all costs in salary, medical and even a place to store the equipment and to work.
I for one have never figured out HOW to pay for something by cutting my income. That is what cutting taxes does, essentially. You cut the government income each time you cut taxes and that means something has to be cut from the budget, just like we have to cut something from our budget when inflation goes up, or our salaries go down. Since they are unlikely to vote for cutting their retirement pension (Senators and Congressmen get the majority of their salary as a pension even if they only serve a month), their health benefits (yep you guessed it, full coverage for them and their families on our dime, no cobra..they get to keep it), their entertainment, vacation and travel budgets (we pay for it) it has to come from somewhere. A Few Congressmen and Senators HAVE refused the health care and other benefits and therefore have some vague clue as to how Mr. and Mrs America struggles to afford medications, insurance etc...but they are rare and few and usually have a much higher income than we do anyway.
Do I like paying taxes? Nope. Do I struggle to get back every possible dime each year? Yep. Do I understand how important those taxes are..hell year..and I find it ironic that one of our elite classes (Some of the Higher paid Actors and Directors) are coming out for Obama, even though it means they will likely pay 39% even incorporated.
poenkitten ( who usually stays out of these discussions)
P.S. Found it ironic that last night in Melbourne Florida McCain blamed Obamas Team for all of Joe the Plumbers exposure including the investigation by the Press and Media into who he was all the while members of his audience were wearing Joe the Plumber T-shirts.
Going to the gym while singing and the Blame goes On...The Blame goes On..(to the tune of the Beat Goes On (Sonny and Cher))
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