OohPooPahDoo
Gold Member
Half of Americans pay no taxes? This is the Big Republican Lie.
81% of Americans pay federal taxes including payroll taxes for Medicare and Social Security and income taxes. In addition they also pay state taxes, sales taxes and property taxes.
Of the 19% who pay no federal taxes 95% are elderly on fixed incomes or working families.
What kind of political party attacks the elderly and the working poor?.....the Republican Party.
Mr. Romney is absolutely correct that about half of American households do not pay federal income tax. (He is also tapping into a now long-running vein of conservative anger at those households.)
The Reasons Behind the 'People Who Pay No Income Tax' - Yahoo! Finance
His claim wasn't that 47% pay no federal income tax (which is correct), his claim was that 47% are "dependent on government", which is simply incorrect. About half of the 47% do not pay federal taxes but also do not get any benefits from the government.
http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org/2011/07/27/why-do-people-pay-no-federal-income-tax-2/
To tell someone who struggles to get by on a meager paycheck but who takes no government handouts that they are "dependent on government" is frankly just insulting. Romney just told about 23% of the country that they are government leaches when in fact they are not.
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