Spending tax money on Special Interest groups is, and always been completely illegal.
Tax expenditures are paid for with higher tax rates and deficit spending.
So that means they are paid for by spending tax money on special interest groups.
A complete non sequitor. (Latin for "does not follow")
Just because you don't understand how you are being robbed doesn't mean it's a non sequitur.
An allegory:
Bernie and Ted earn identical incomes.
Bernie and Ted's fair share of the federal budget is $1000. This means Bernie and Ted are each responsible for $500 at tax time.
But wait! Ted bought the right kind of refrigerator the government wanted him to buy. He gets a tax deduction! Ted also bought other government-approved products.
Ted's tax burden is now $400 instead of $500, thanks to tax expenditures awarded to him. "Woo hoo!", exclaims Ted, "I get to keep more of my own money!"
But Ted is wrong.
Since the federal tax burden for Ted and Bernie is $1000, and Ted is only paying $400 and Bernie is paying $500, tax revenues are going to come up $100 short. There will be a $100 deficit due to Ted's tax expenditures.
What to do...what to do...
So the government raises everyone's tax rates by 5 percent.
Now Bernie owes $525, and Ted owes $425 ($525 - $100 deduction).
Has Ted really saved $100? Nope. His taxes are only $75 lower now, and Bernies are $25 more. And their total tax payment is still $50 short of the goal of $1000.
After the 5% tax hike, Ted's $100 deduction is paid for by each of them paying $25 more, plus a $50 deficit.
And that is how our current tax structure is actually managed, boys and girls. We have this ridiculous system whereby two people earning identical incomes pay radically different taxes, and we have a budget deficit.
And the rube with the deductions isn't getting as much as he thinks he is.
Now along comes a deficit hawk who wants a balanced budget. And so taxes are raised 10%.
Now Bernie is paying $550 instead of the original $500. And Ted is paying $450 (after taking out his deduction).
We now have a balanced budget. But look. Ted's $100 deduction has really only netted him $50. And where did that $50 come from? It came out of Bernie's pocket!
And this is why tax expenditures are no different than food stamps or Obamaphones. Someone else has to pay for them with higher tax rates. And you aren't making out as much as you think you are.
But wait! It gets worse!
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/Uplo...erest-Deduction-Affect-the-Housing-Market.pdf
One widely cited 1996 study by Dennis Capozza, Richard Green, and Patric Hendershott estimated that eliminating the mortgage interest and property tax deductions would reduce housing prices in the short term by an average of 13 percent nationwide, with regional changes ranging from 8 to 27 percent.
Ted's mortgage-interest deduction (MID) has been factored into the price of his house! Because of the mortgage-interest tax deduction, Ted's house (and everyone else's houses) cost more.
So for Ted, his entire tax deduction is a total wash. He isn't getting to keep his money. His taxes are higher, and his house cost more.
So who is REALLY getting the money?
Well, who benefits from higher house prices?
That's right. Builders, banks, brokers, and real estate agents.
Mortgage Interest Deduction: $484 billion
The MID cost taxpayers $484 billion between 2010-2014.
Guess how much the budget deficit was for 2014?
$483 billion.
And that is just ONE tax expenditure, kids.
The Real Estate special interests spent $26,723,151 on House campaign contributions, $11,255,447 on Senate campaign contributions, and $95,563,540 on lobbying in 2014, for a total of $133,542,138.
They didn't spend that money for nothing, boys and girls. It netted them a profit of $96 billion, every penny of which came out of YOUR pockets.
