Obama pays less than a third on taxes

[Yurt]

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, millionaires from his best-selling books, made $2.7 million last year and paid just under one-third of their adjusted income in federal taxes. While the income, mostly his, was far more than the U.S. median household income of about $50,000, it was quite a decrease from the $4.2 million the Obamas made in 2007.


Obamas report $2.7 million in income for 2008

doesn't obama's plan call for those over 250K to have an approx. 40% tax rate?

 

[Immanuel]

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, millionaires from his best-selling books, made $2.7 million last year and paid just under one-third of their adjusted income in federal taxes. While the income, mostly his, was far more than the U.S. median household income of about $50,000, it was quite a decrease from the $4.2 million the Obamas made in 2007.


Obamas report $2.7 million in income for 2008

doesn't obama's plan call for those over 250K to have an approx. 40% tax rate?

You fault him for doing what every American tries to do come this time of the year? That is use every legal means possible to reduce one's taxes. I think 33% of AGI is a heck of a lot of money to pay out, but I don't fault the President for finding legal means to lower his taxes. I say more power to him.

The government (long before he got involved with it) created this BS Tax code. The President has as much right as I do, to find any legal loophole he can.

At least he's paying his taxes unlike some other politicians.

Immie

 

[DiamondDave]

I don't 'fault' him...

I fault the over-complicated and bullshit tax system.... the same system because of that complexity and bullshit, needs to be huge and hugely bureaucratic.... the system that needs to be completely redone, simplified, and made to bring equal % burden to all American citizens on every dollar of income

 

[Yurt]

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, millionaires from his best-selling books, made $2.7 million last year and paid just under one-third of their adjusted income in federal taxes. While the income, mostly his, was far more than the U.S. median household income of about $50,000, it was quite a decrease from the $4.2 million the Obamas made in 2007.


Obamas report $2.7 million in income for 2008

doesn't obama's plan call for those over 250K to have an approx. 40% tax rate?

You fault him for doing what every American tries to do come this time of the year? That is use every legal means possible to reduce one's taxes. I think 33% of AGI is a heck of a lot of money to pay out, but I don't fault the President for finding legal means to lower his taxes. I say more power to him.

The government (long before he got involved with it) created this BS Tax code. The President has as much right as I do, to find any legal loophole he can.

At least he's paying his taxes unlike some other politicians.

Immie

do you go around advocating for a higher tax rate?

how is not hypocritical for someone to run around telling people that people making over 250K should pay a tax rate of 40% and then to use whatever means possible to pay less than 33%?

 

[jillian]

idiot....

 

[Yurt]

I don't 'fault' him...

I fault the over-complicated and bullshit tax system.... the same system because of that complexity and bullshit, needs to be huge and hugely bureaucratic.... the system that needs to be completely redone, simplified, and made to bring equal % burden to all American citizens on every dollar of income

obama did not have to use the complicated tax system...he could have simply paid 40% of his earnings over 250K....you know, practice what you preach...

 

[manu1959]

idiot....

you should be so mean to michelle and barry....they are doing the best they can.....

 

[jillian]

idiot....

you should be so mean to michelle and barry....they are doing the best they can.....

No, dear, I'm talking to yurt-ijit....

but you know that.

maybe next time we can elevate to "I know you are, but what am I?"

Although, perhaps if the wingnuts were as diligent about monitoring Baby Bush's actions for eight years, he wouldn't have screwed up as badly as he did.

 

[manu1959]

idiot....

you should be so mean to michelle and barry....they are doing the best they can.....

No, dear, I'm talking to yurt-ijit....

but you know that.

maybe next time we can elevate to "I know you are, but what am I?"

Although, perhaps if the wingnuts were as diligent about monitoring Baby Bush's actions for eight years, he wouldn't have screwed up as badly as he did.

i am rubber you are glue.....

obama is just bush on steroids....

 

[Yurt]

idiot....

dumbass that can't formulate an argument if jerry springer called you a beeyotch

thanks for letting me know you can't defend obama's hypocrisy

 

[Yurt]

idiot....

you should be so mean to michelle and barry....they are doing the best they can.....

No, dear, I'm talking to yurt-ijit....

but you know that.

maybe next time we can elevate to "I know you are, but what am I?"

Although, perhaps if the wingnuts were as diligent about monitoring Baby Bush's actions for eight years, he wouldn't have screwed up as badly as he did.

do you actually have an argument or are you like those wimps who stand on the side of the sandbox yelling and making fun of those kids on the inside because you're too scared to actually touch the sand....

 

[Immanuel]

do you go around advocating for a higher tax rate?

how is not hypocritical for someone to run around telling people that people making over 250K should pay a tax rate of 40% and then to use whatever means possible to pay less than 33%?

Actually, I don't recall him ever saying anyone should pay 40%? I believe he stated in his own words that the top marginal tax rate should be 39%. I don't ever recall him stating that it should be a flat 39% for people who earn over $250,000. We have a Tax Code that legally allows any American to use deductions to lower their effective tax rate.

The President simply used the tax code to lower his rate. Now, if he stated that anyone earning $2.7 million should pay 39% on $2.7 million and he only paid 33% then you might have a good point, but that was not the stance he took.

Immie

 

[Yurt]

do you go around advocating for a higher tax rate?

how is not hypocritical for someone to run around telling people that people making over 250K should pay a tax rate of 40% and then to use whatever means possible to pay less than 33%?

Actually, I don't recall him ever saying anyone should pay 40%? I believe he stated in his own words that the top marginal tax rate should be 39%. I don't ever recall him stating that it should be a flat 39% for people who earn over $250,000. We have a Tax Code that legally allows any American to use deductions to lower their effective tax rate.

The President simply used the tax code to lower his rate. Now, if he stated that anyone earning $2.7 million should pay 39% on $2.7 million and he only paid 33% then you might have a good point, but that was not the stance he took.

Immie

its 39.6% immie, good lord, get me for .4%

why raise taxes only to lower them? if he is going to raise taxes, walk the walk and pay them. why use deductions at all? why demand a higher tax rate only to wittle your own taxes down? that is hypocrisy.

 

[xsited1]

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, millionaires from his best-selling books, made $2.7 million last year and paid just under one-third of their adjusted income in federal taxes. While the income, mostly his, was far more than the U.S. median household income of about $50,000, it was quite a decrease from the $4.2 million the Obamas made in 2007.


Obamas report $2.7 million in income for 2008

doesn't obama's plan call for those over 250K to have an approx. 40% tax rate?

They reported contributing $172,050 to charity last year, including $25,000 each to the CARE international relief agency and the United Negro College Fund. That $172,050 represented about 6.5 percent of the family's adjusted gross income. That percentage is roughly two to three times the national average for household donations to charity, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

 

[Immanuel]

its 39.6% immie, good lord, get me for .4%

why raise taxes only to lower them? if he is going to raise taxes, walk the walk and pay them. why use deductions at all? why demand a higher tax rate only to wittle your own taxes down? that is hypocrisy.

I wasn't dinging you on the 40%, yurt. You were simply rounding off and I was using 39 instead of 40.

But, the fact is, that the President advocated increasing the marginal tax rate to what it was before the Bush Tax cuts. Under our system, that means that for every dollar earned over the bottom of the tax bracket you pay 39.6%; however, each tax payer is allowed to use the tax code to his advantage to bring down the tax rate. The President did not advocate a flat tax... unfortunately, but rather the same BS tax code we have had for decades but with higher marginal rates. He wasn't being hypocritical in this case. He played by the rules he was advocating last year.

Maybe if he wanted to put his money where his mouth was, he could have contributed extra, but he was not going against his earlier stance.

Immie

 

[Yurt]

its 39.6% immie, good lord, get me for .4%

why raise taxes only to lower them? if he is going to raise taxes, walk the walk and pay them. why use deductions at all? why demand a higher tax rate only to wittle your own taxes down? that is hypocrisy.

I wasn't dinging you on the 40%, yurt. You were simply rounding off and I was using 39 instead of 40.

But, the fact is, that the President advocated increasing the marginal tax rate to what it was before the Bush Tax cuts. Under our system, that means that for every dollar earned over the bottom of the tax bracket you pay 39.6%; however, each tax payer is allowed to use the tax code to his advantage to bring down the tax rate. The President did not advocate a flat tax... unfortunately, but rather the same BS tax code we have had for decades but with higher marginal rates. He wasn't being hypocritical in this case. He played by the rules he was advocating last year.

Maybe if he wanted to put his money where his mouth was, he could have contributed extra, but he was not going against his earlier stance.

Immie

when you round, you round up....

fact is, he did not pay 40%, he paid less than 33%. so what you saying is, he knew that he could raise the rate, make liberals happy and the poor feel like he is sticking to the rich, but then use the tax code to not pay 40%....

further, obama said that he wants to close loopholes that allow rich people to get out of paying their fair share:

Our tax code is riddled with special interest loopholes that allow some corporations and wealthy individuals to avoid paying their fair share of
taxes. As President, Obama would move aggressively to close inefficient loopholes...

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/taxes/Factsheet_Tax_Plan_FINAL.pdf

so, he wants them to be taxed at 39.6%, but then he will use those loopholes so that he doesn't have to give up 39.6% of his money...come on, biden and other dems say paying taxes is patriotic, well, walk the walk...don't use loopholes

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

idiot....

you should be so mean to michelle and barry....they are doing the best they can.....

No, dear, I'm talking to yurt-ijit....

but you know that.

maybe next time we can elevate to "I know you are, but what am I?"

Although, perhaps if the wingnuts were as diligent about monitoring Baby Bush's actions for eight years, he wouldn't have screwed up as badly as he did.

SPECIFICALLY... how did Bush screw us?

(Now enjoy how she answers this...

She'll cry about Bush being a strong advocate of American security in his prosecution of the war against Islamic terrorism...

and of course the deficit spending WHICH NO ONE SHOUTED LOUDER IN CONTEST OF THAT SPENDING THAN WE, THE AMERICANS, SHOUTED...

So she 'feels' that Bush screwed us... even while she applauds a much more egregeous screwing by The Lord of the Idiots and his leftist minions in the legislature.)

 

[Immanuel]

its 39.6% immie, good lord, get me for .4%

why raise taxes only to lower them? if he is going to raise taxes, walk the walk and pay them. why use deductions at all? why demand a higher tax rate only to wittle your own taxes down? that is hypocrisy.

I wasn't dinging you on the 40%, yurt. You were simply rounding off and I was using 39 instead of 40.

But, the fact is, that the President advocated increasing the marginal tax rate to what it was before the Bush Tax cuts. Under our system, that means that for every dollar earned over the bottom of the tax bracket you pay 39.6%; however, each tax payer is allowed to use the tax code to his advantage to bring down the tax rate. The President did not advocate a flat tax... unfortunately, but rather the same BS tax code we have had for decades but with higher marginal rates. He wasn't being hypocritical in this case. He played by the rules he was advocating last year.

Maybe if he wanted to put his money where his mouth was, he could have contributed extra, but he was not going against his earlier stance.

Immie

when you round, you round up....

fact is, he did not pay 40%, he paid less than 33%. so what you saying is, he knew that he could raise the rate, make liberals happy and the poor feel like he is sticking to the rich, but then use the tax code to not pay 40%....

further, obama said that he wants to close loopholes that allow rich people to get out of paying their fair share:

Our tax code is riddled with special interest loopholes that allow some corporations and wealthy individuals to avoid paying their fair share of
taxes. As President, Obama would move aggressively to close inefficient loopholes...

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/taxes/Factsheet_Tax_Plan_FINAL.pdf

so, he wants them to be taxed at 39.6%, but then he will use those loopholes so that he doesn't have to give up 39.6% of his money...come on, biden and other dems say paying taxes is patriotic, well, walk the walk...don't use loopholes

No, you round to the nearest. Five and above you round up, four or less you round down. I wasn't sure and did not care whether it was (.0, .1, .2, .3, .4, .5, .6, .7, .8, .9) it simply didn't matter.

You are playing games with his words. He said he wanted to raise the top marginal rate to the rates before Bushes tax cuts. He did not say he wanted the rich to pay that effective rate. There is a big difference and I am fully confident that you know that.

Immie

 

[Iriemon]

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, millionaires from his best-selling books, made $2.7 million last year and paid just under one-third of their adjusted income in federal taxes. While the income, mostly his, was far more than the U.S. median household income of about $50,000, it was quite a decrease from the $4.2 million the Obamas made in 2007.


Obamas report $2.7 million in income for 2008

doesn't obama's plan call for those over 250K to have an approx. 40% tax rate?

Yes, though the tax code revision hasn't been passed yet and probably won't until next year. In the meantime, you can thank Bush and the Republicans for why multi-millionaires pay such a low rate of tax.

 

[Amanda]

I don't 'fault' him...

I fault the over-complicated and bullshit tax system.... the same system because of that complexity and bullshit, needs to be huge and hugely bureaucratic.... the system that needs to be completely redone, simplified, and made to bring equal % burden to all American citizens on every dollar of income

Agreed. It shouldn't be possible to skip out on taxes because you have a fancy accountant or tax attorney. It should take about 2 minutes to do your taxes. And it should be the same for everyone.