The Check's in the Mail...
Laid off or your hours cut back? Falling behind on your loan payments or finding yourself with a bigger credit card balance each month? Or you just can't manage to save for emergencies or retirement? Think that your tax refund check will help out? Better think again.
A study by Citizens for Tax Justice shows that for the majority of taxpayers who earn less than $44,000 per year, more than 40% will get no refund check at all, and another 20% will only get a partial payment. Why? Because the Bush tax cut doesn't count payroll taxes for social security and Medicare (listed as “FICA” on your paycheck). But three-quarters of all taxpayers who are low and middle income pay more payroll taxes than income taxes.
But if you are among those who make more than $373,000 per year, not to worry. In 2010, when the Bush tax cut is fully phased in, you will pay $50,000 less in taxes. Wealthy Americans like you are only 1% of taxpayers, but will get 40% of the tax breaks. Almost half of this tax break comes from the repeal of the estate tax, which taxes large inheritances.
Supporters of the tax cut were pretty slick, arguing that the inheritance tax (which they call a death tax) was taking away farms from family farmers. Later the truth came out that NOT A SINGLE FARM HAS EVER BEEN LOST TO THE INHERITANCE TAX. In a few years, the children of wealthy Americans (like George Bush) won't have to pay taxes on their parents' estates, increasing the gap between a wealthy few and majority of the population who is falling behind.
You didn't read about this in your daily newspaper? Well, it was probably there, but in a small article buried deep inside the paper. But the front-page and larger articles have been hyping how ALL taxpayers will be receiving checks of $600 (for couples), $500 (for single parents), or $300 (for individuals) later this summer. For most of us, that won't happen. The daily newspapers are owned by big news corporations and depend on corporate advertising, so they slant the news.
So for all you fat cats who will be getting even bigger inheritances, you can send some our way. Just make the checks out to Fight Back! and send them to P.O. 582564, Minneapolis, MN 55440, USA. We will be waiting for the checks. But we won't be holding our breath...