NOW will you lemmings get IT??

[FlyFastLiveSlow]

no but using REAL income (as money in my hand) as a divisor would then mean using net income which only drives back up the % of taxes paid.

ok i have a headache now. please vote for ron paul so we can eliminate the IRS.

:smash: Too bad there is no way to put a tiny picture of my head under that little hammer.

The IRS will never go away.....well, maybe not never, but RP won't make it disappear.

 

[CitationLover]

I don't have to. I understand that. I'm just saying that you have to look at the real percentage. There is no way to truly calculate the implied percentage that goes toward taxes. It could be 5% or 50%. There is no way to know.

i don't have to, i'll trust the economists who tell me how much it is.

read plenty about this at the Cato Institute.

 

[CitationLover]

:smash: Too bad there is no way to put a tiny picture of my head under that little hammer.

The IRS will never go away.....well, maybe not never, but RP won't make it disappear.

don't squash my dreams. :bawling:

 

[Future Furlough]

Yes, actually, it does. The statistical analysis of the CPI is based off of spending "diaries" that were kept by 30,000 families across the nation for several months. The calculation method is updated every few years by a new group of families. These diaries kept by "real people" are used to determine how much of the average American's budget is alloted to each category of product, and that info is used to calculate the impact of increases in prices of that type of item to each family. Got any empirical date to back up that claim? No? Didn't think so. Just because you claim it, doesn't make it so.

If I look at my "diary" over the last year, my food, gas and utility bills have all gone up more than 2.8%.
Heck, I consider $3.50 for a gallon a milk to be a good deal now. As far as economists accepting the CPI, I think if you look back over the last few years, there has been a fair amount of discussion over whether the CPI's "basket" of goods is an accurate representation of the US economy. Plus, you gotta recognize the relationship between inflation and growth in GDP. At 2.8% inflation, growth in GDP looks respectable. At 4-5% inflation, GDP growth gets near zero.

Remember, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

 

[FlyFastLiveSlow]

i don't have to, i'll trust the economists who tell me how much it is.

Well, that can only be a guideline, though. I took a lot of economics in college. I learned that numbers can be twisted more than any words when using economic theories, and that two different economists, with two different agendas, will produce two sets of very different results, using the same data. Soooooo....forgive my skepticism.

 

[FlyFastLiveSlow]

don't squash my dreams. :bawling:

I can't help it. I love to squash other's dreams. :nuts:

Seriously though. A consumption tax would be nice in replacement of the income tax, with rebates on necessities for low income people. A nice side benefit might be for people to think twice before buying all the useless crap they buy, and maybe some of this senseless consumerism would finally be tempered.

 

[CitationLover]

trust me i wish i had your estimated property taxes here in chicago.

 

[NewmanF16]

According to the Tax Foundation, tax freedom day was April 30th this year. http://www.taxfoundation.org/UserFiles/Image/Tax-Freedom-Day/2007/figure4large6.jpg shows the breakdown of average taxes paid. It takes the average American 120 working days to pay their taxes. Given there are 260 working days in a year, that means you pay 46% of your income in taxes. You can look here http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxfreedomday/ for more details.

 

[FlyFastLiveSlow]

trust me i wish i had your estimated property taxes here in chicago.

Actually, mine are about half of that. I thought I was estimating a little high. yikes.

 

[CitationLover]

According to the Tax Foundation, tax freedom day was April 30th this year. http://www.taxfoundation.org/UserFiles/Image/Tax-Freedom-Day/2007/figure4large6.jpg shows the breakdown of average taxes paid. It takes the average American 120 working days to pay their taxes. Given there are 260 working days in a year, that means you pay 46% of your income in taxes. You can look here http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxfreedomday/ for more details.

thank you newman that was exactly what i was trying to find.

 

[Andy]

According to the Tax Foundation, tax freedom day was April 30th this year. http://www.taxfoundation.org/UserFiles/Image/Tax-Freedom-Day/2007/figure4large6.jpg shows the breakdown of average taxes paid. It takes the average American 120 working days to pay their taxes. Given there are 260 working days in a year, that means you pay 46% of your income in taxes. You can look here http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxfreedomday/ for more details.

Newman, that's 120 days, not 120 work days.
1 Jan to 30 April = 4 months = 1/3 year = 33%

 

[FlyFastLiveSlow]

Newman, that's 120 days, not 120 work days.
1 Jan to 30 April = 4 months = 1/3 year = 33%

Thank you. You beat me...120/365=32.8767.......

 

[NewmanF16]

Well, I'm not sure which is right. The chart's title is "Average number of days worked to pay taxes..." and "Days spent Laboring...120 days"

 

[CitationLover]

Thank you. You beat me...120/365=32.8767.......

reread what newman posted. he said it takes 120 working days (not days) to pay off the taxes. his math was correct.

the error, if anything, is that tax freedom day is actually LONGER into the year. yikes!

 

[FlyFastLiveSlow]

reread what newman posted. he said it takes 120 working days (not days) to pay off the taxes. his math was correct.

the error, if anything, is that tax freedom day is actually LONGER into the year. yikes!

Actually, if you use the link, it contradicts itself. I think the "120 working days is a misprint" if you read the whole page.

Read the table towards the bottom of the page....it actually states 32.69%