tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708139263643046536.post8728644316981447122..comments2024-03-28T14:59:42.168-04:00Comments on Kresta In The Afternoon: Victory for Georgia School KidsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708139263643046536.post-83447042282564095042011-04-26T01:58:58.092-04:002011-04-26T01:58:58.092-04:00TurboTax's TaxCaster is a fun and easy way to ...TurboTax's <a href="http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/" rel="nofollow">TaxCaster</a> is a fun and easy way to see why nearly half of U.S households pay no federal income tax. <br /><br />Under 'Your Personal Information,' move the button from 'single' to 'married.' <br /><br />Now go down and click on the 'Your Income' icon. Slide the little marker under 'Wages' to the right until you see $50,000 in the little window. Way over on the right side you'll see that you owe the federal government $3,061. Click on the orange 'Done' button. <br /><br />Now go down and click on the 'Family' icon. You can see that the number of dependents (16 or younger) is 0. Click twice on the button with the little up arrow. (Don't click the dependent button too fast. It might give you a wrong answer.) You now have 2 dependents. Over on the right side you'll see that you get $34 from the federal government. <br /><br />Increase the number of dependents to 4. That gets you $3,127 from the federal government. <br /><br />You can see why nearly half of U.S households don't pay any income tax. <br /><br />It's fun to play around with it. Hit the orange 'Done' button and you're back to the starting point. <br /><br />See what happens when you lower your income from $50,000 to $30,000 by once again clicking on the 'Your Income' icon. (Remember, you still have 4 kids.) Slide the 'Wages' marker back to the left so that you have an income of $30,000. Notice that you now get $8,662 from the federal government. <br /><br />What happens when you lower your income even more? What if you have 5 kids?<br /><br />I think it's fun. <br /><br />And informative.maumanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250198272377329639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708139263643046536.post-82916875010996648512011-04-25T18:07:55.801-04:002011-04-25T18:07:55.801-04:00Nick,
I used $500 in my example because that'...Nick, <br /><br />I used $500 in my example because that's the maximum tax credit in Arizona for contributions to STOs. ($1,000 for joint filers). I used it to illustrate the essential problem with the tax credit. If a person's tax liability before taking the credit is less than $500, then yes, he will not get the full tax credit. <br /><br />Once again. Suppose a person gives $500 to an STO and then uses the tax credit to reduce his income tax by $500. Did he really pay for that contribution? If he didn't, who did? Explain it to me. <br /><br />I didn't mention tax deductions because the item you posted was about tax credits. It would have been gratuitous of me to mention tax deductions. <br /><br />You mentioned "taxpayers who have a tax liability of zero." Interesting. Taxpayers who pay no tax. Hmm. Anyway, my comment only addressed people who use the tax credit. Your attempt to obfuscate the issue by including "taxpayers who have a tax liability of zero" is really quite lame -- maybe even dishonest. <br /><br />Yes. I think we should get rid of all tax deductions and tax credits. Government uses them to affect our behavior. I don't want government doing that. In fact, I would go even further -- no government funding of education. It's redistribution of income. In other words, taking money by force from one person and giving it to another. Doesn't one of the Ten Commandments say that's a no-no?<br /><br />This topic gives me an opportunity to bring up a subject that riles conservatives. Almost half of U.S households pay no federal income tax. In fact, many get money from the government. We have this problem because the federal tax code subsidizes children, mainly due to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. <br /><br />Do you think it's right that almost half of U.S households pay no federal income tax? If you don't think it's right, how would you fix it?maumanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250198272377329639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708139263643046536.post-46494405498020122032011-04-25T12:08:48.582-04:002011-04-25T12:08:48.582-04:00You have a few glaring errors of assumption mauman...You have a few glaring errors of assumption mauman. Your argument rests on you incorrect theory that because of the credit, everyone's taxes would be raised. <br /><br />First of all, in Georgia this is not a refundable credit, meaning that the ~50% of Georgia, Arizona, taxpayers who have a tax liability of zero are not costing the Georgia treasury a penny. In other states with similar programs, the contribution is merely a deduction which only reduces their tax liability marginally. <br /><br />Second, for your argument to be consistent, you must oppose ALL tax credits and deductions. according to your argument, if I get a deduction for my morgage interest, everyone helps pay for that. If I contribute to my Church or an atheist donates to Americans United for Separation of Church and State, everyone pays for that contribution.<br /><br />- NickKresta In The Afternoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11930247819667501826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7708139263643046536.post-13795248950737711202011-04-22T07:44:58.044-04:002011-04-22T07:44:58.044-04:00Re: The Arizona Tax Credit For School Tuition Orga...Re: The Arizona Tax Credit For School Tuition Organizations <br /><br />Let me see if I understand this. I want to help a Catholic family send their child to a Catholic school, so I give $500 to one of the School Tuition Organizations. Then when I pay my taxes, I get a full tax credit for that contribution, which reduces the amount of tax I owe by $500. My charitable contribution has seemingly cost me nothing. <br /><br />The actual net effect is that I have spread the cost of my charitable contribution among all the taxpayers. Here's how. The tax credit costs the state of Arizona a certain amount of revenue. The state will have to make up for the loss by imposing slightly higher income tax rates. <br /><br />Let's say I could do the same thing for a woman seeking an abortion. I give Planned Parenthood a $500 charitable contribution so that a woman can get an abortion. I'm then allowed to take that $500 contribution as a tax credit, thereby reducing my taxes by $500. I have spread the cost of my charitable contribution among all the taxpayers by making them pay just a little bit more in income tax. <br /><br />In fact, I may have succeeded in getting others to contribute more money to the abortion than I contributed. As I said, the revenue loss to the state of Arizona due to the tax credit must be made up by imposing slightly higher income tax rates. Arizona has a progressive income tax structure. If I am in a low tax bracket, then I pay only a small amount to make up for the tax credit. Those with higher incomes pay more. I have succeeded in getting high income earners to contribute more money to the abortion than I did. <br /><br />Would that be OK with you, Al?maumanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250198272377329639noreply@blogger.com