Capital Gains Tax

[Avalux]

Not a lot is being said about it, but I'm really appalled at how Romney tried to sell abolishing the capital gains tax (along with dividend tax) as HELPING the middle class to that audience questioner. He doesn't have a fucking clue, or he's intentionally being deceitful, I choose the latter. People who make 50k a year don't have investments that provide income, they don't have a mutual fund significant enough to help them. I'm wondering if most people understand this.

Abolishing the capital gains tax will only benefit the top. People like Romney, who would pay NO taxes if he's able to do it.

What a lying sack of shit.

[KansDem]

1. Don't you mean...

"Lying sack of Mitt?"

[spanone]

2. he's got a clue alright. he wants to eliminate his 14 percent tax bill down to nada.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Well it would reduce his tax rate to around zero.

So I can understand why he fucking lies about it.

[SDjack]

4. I especially enjoyed the "no tax on bank deposit interest", as my

annual interest payment is about $2.

[Freddie]

8. Me too

I always make sure to put that $2.53 interest earned on the correct line or the IRS will flag it!

[SmileyRose]

17. and they will

In 2004 we got an audit letter from the IRS over 9 cents.

[unblock]

9. in fact, my understanding is that banks don't notify the irs if it's under $10.

legally, you still owe taxes on it, the irs isn't interested in bothering to enforce this as they're the ones who let the banks not report this.

[Paulie]

5. Investments by the middle class are in IRA and 40x plans

Which defer taxes until withdrawal. And when taken out are charged at income tax rates not capital gains rate. So even with his mythical across the board taxes will still be more than his goal of not taxing gains or getting rid of the carry interest exemption.

Mittens, a lying sack of malarkey.

[livetohike]

6. Exactly. My husband is a tax preparer and as we watched the debate

he said it's all beneficial to the wealthy. The "bucket" that Romney was talking about is going to hurt alot of middle class people who have huge mortgage deductions on their taxes. Also, Romney changed his numbers on that bucket idea. I think it was $17,000 just last week. Last night he said $25,000. The fact is, there is going to be nothing beneficial to the middle class.

He doesn't have a plan and he is forgetting what lies he told. Look at the young gun Ryan. He can't explain it because it's changing every day.

They are both disgusting.

[mother earth]

7. Santorum was right. Nobody smart will ever be GOP followers, who can afford entitlements for the

wealthy?

Seriously, if you are worried about capital gains & dividend tax, you must be doing well financially.

You are absolutely right, they want no taxes, no regulations, no rules...a free for all for the ENTITLED wealthy elites.
No taxes for the "job creators", trickle down BS...everything that has gotten us into this chaotic mess! It wasn't enough to bring us the Bush Recession, they want a Robme Depression!

[Honeycombe8]

10. We caught it here. And Maher tweeted on that one. Romney thinks we're STOOPID. That we won't

realize that we have far less in dividends and interest than bazillionaires.

The next time I go to the grocery store, I'll ask cashier how her investments for interest and dividends are doing.

[Avalux]

11. Good idea. I'm going to start asking people that.

It's a good way to inform them of Mitt's tax policy.

[LeftInTX]

12. I'm glad Pres Obama pointed it out

I also think Romney's tax plan was confusing for many viewers.
You either had to study the plain before hand or be an accountant to understand what he was talking about at the debate.

Obama's was very straightforward.

[hfojvt]

13. but about 64% of people with dividend and capital gains make less than 100K

it's true, from IRS stats in 2005. http://journals.democraticunderground.com/hfojvt/81

So I would not over-state things. MOST of the benefits, about 73% goto people with incomes over $500,000 but not all of the benefits do.

I myself had a capital gain in 2009, decent sized (about $15,000) that I paid ZERO federal tax on, and my total income was about $28,000 that year.

"The IRS also notes that the lower tax rate for dividends and capital gains saved taxpayers $91.65 billion in 2005. Of that amount $1.198 billion went to taxpayers making less than $50,000 (that's a whopping 1.3%!!! and an average savings of $186!!!) and $4.84 billion went to taxpayers making less than $100,000 (that's a whopping 5.2% and an average savings of $349).

On the other side, the 11,433 filers with income of $10,000,000 or more saved $25.84 billion (28.1% of the benefits going to .05% of the beneficiaries with an average savings of $2,260,124) and the 101,676 filers with income over $2,000,000 got $46.615 billion (50.9% of the benefits going to .47% of the beneficiaries with an average savings of $458,466.)"

[FogerRox]

18. 64% of people, not dollars. Sheese.

The top quintile pays 98.3% of cap gains, the bottom 40% pays .1%

The top 1% pay 70%.

The top .o1% pay 49.0%.

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?Docid=3176&DocTypeID=2

[hfojvt]

20. Isn't that about what I said?

Sheesh.

"The IRS also notes that the lower tax rate for dividends and capital gains saved taxpayers $91.65 billion in 2005. Of that amount $1.198 billion went to taxpayers making less than $50,000 (that's a whopping 1.3%!!! and an average savings of $186!!!)"

except I included dividends.

There's still a LOT of people, almost 14 million, with income under $100,000 who get some dividend and capital gain income and who get some benefit from a cut in taxes on that income. And they know it by their own experience. So if you tell them that they get ZERO benefit, they know you are wrong.

And as for the top quintile, well, according to Obama, 90% of that top quintile is in the MIDDLE class, and only the top 2% is rich.

THIS is the point that I would hammer at

"The top 1% pay 70%."

But that is MOST, a large majority, and NOT 100%.

My own tax cut of $1,500, while fairly substantial to me, is a pittance compared to the tax benefits going to those with much higher incomes.

But that is part of the problem. Bush-type tax cuts will throw $100 or $300 to lower and middle income people to distract us or get us to foolishly support their own $100,000 or $1,000,000 tax cuts.

But the accursed payroll tax cut is much the same way. 46% of it goes to the top quintile. Only 12% of it goes to the bottom 40%. It also increases inequality.

[begin_within]

14. The ruling class dreams of eliminating the capital gains tax completely.

That is really the only thing that tethers them to the social contract any more.
I'm pretty sure George H.W. Bush said several times he wanted to abolish it.
In my opinion capital gains should be lumped in with regular income and all of it taxed at the same rates.
There should not be any "discounted rate" for capital gains. It's all income and it should all have the same rate.

[TheFarseer]

15. yes, totally agree

Mitt wants to cut his taxes to zero to help us. Thanks asshat!

[1-Old-Man]

16. I see no reason why it shouldn't be taxed at the same rate as earned income, earned as in worked for

A person works for wages earned by the hour has to pay at some rate, why would earnings for doing no work at all have to pay less - what of value have they given to the community for which they have not profited in some other way that earns them the respect of having to pay a lessor tax?

[FogerRox]

19. Yes but no

Raise Cap gains to 30-35%, raise the top income rate to 70%.

That will make corporate tax rates the best place to put your money- tax wise, not in speculation.