To the Editor:
I wish there were some way to get rid of the rich. Getting rid of the rich would save us from the distraction by leftist hustlers promoting the policy of envy.
The President, in 2008, said you were rich if you made $250,000. An income of $250,000 hardly qualifies someone to be rich; it’s not even yacht and Learjet money, though they are in the top two percent of income earners.
According to figures I received from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), if Congress imposed a 100 percent tax on all households earning about $250,000 a year, took all corporate profits from the Fortune 500 companies and confiscated everything from the 400 billionaires in this country, it would run our 3.7 trillion dollar budget to mid August. Bottom line: We don’t have enough rich people to come anywhere close to satisfying Congress’ voracious appetite.
Similarly, when government taxes profits, corporations, and even small business, report fewer profits and greater costs. When individuals face higher income taxes, they report less income, buy tax shelters and hide their money. We all try to avoid taxes.
What is the evidence? Federal tax collections have been 15 and 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every year since 1960. However, between 1960 and today, the top marginal tax rate has varied between 91 and 35 percent. Whether tax rates are high or low, people make adjustments in their economic behavior to keep government tax take at 15 to 20 percent of the GDP. Remember, differences in tax rates have a far greater impact on economic growth than federal revenues.
Congress will not be getting higher revenues to satisfy their overspending and they know it.
Randy Miller
Carrollton, OH
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