Posted: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 1:00 am | Updated: 9:51 am, Tue May 25, 2010.
By Tom Zirpoli
This may come as a big surprise to many Americans, but 95 percent of us paid fewer federal taxes in 2009, the first year of President Barack Obama's administration, compared with 2008, the last year of President George W. Bush's administration.
In fact, most people paid fewer taxes during the Bush administration than they did during President Bill Clinton's administration.
Federal tax rates have been decreasing, not increasing as many Americans incorrectly believe.
According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, middle-income Americans with a family of four, on average, are now paying 4.6 percent of their income in federal income taxes. This is the second lowest rate in 50 years.
Why were taxes so low in 2009?
Bush cut taxes a couple of times during his administration. Obama's stimulus package added another $200 billion in cuts to middle and lower-income families. Obama's Recovery Act also provided tax breaks and credits for many home buyers and for home energy improvements. Add it all up and, according to the Citizens for Tax Justice, the federal tax bill decreased for 98 percent of Americans in 2009.
So when you hear Tea Party members crying about their taxes going up, remember the facts: Federal income taxes have been going down for most Americans. And when you hear them crying about Obama raising your taxes, listen to Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy Studies at the conservative Cato Institute: "The only tax I think that has been put in place so far is an increase in federal cigarette tax."
While most Americans celebrate decreasing federal taxes, there is a negative side to decreasing federal revenues. For one, our federal deficit is soaring. While revenue is decreasing, expenses are increasing. After all, those tax cuts and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost a lot of money!
In addition, there are fewer federal dollars available to assist state and local governments. As a result, states like Maryland and cities like Westminster must cut services and raise taxes to balance their budgets.
We all want lower taxes. But we also want the snow to be plowed off our streets in a timely manner and clean water flowing out of our faucets. We want a strong military to defend us and a reliable air traffic control system to protect us. We don't want poison in our food or terrorists on our next flight to New York. We want Social Security to be there for our parents, Medicare and Medicaid to support our sibling with developmental disabilities and health care for our children even when we are unemployed.
Tea Party members send their kids to public schools and organize their protests in public parks, all supported by a combination of federal, state and local government funding. Most Tea Party members will collect more Social Security and other federal benefits than they paid in to the system.
After the Bush tax cuts, which costs more than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we all watched as our national deficit ballooned from about $5.5 trillion the day Bush took office to about $10 trillion the day he gave the keys to the White House to Obama.
It is a good thing to have local and national conversations about taxes and the services we expect from our local, state and national governments. But when we are discussing taxes, we need to get our facts straight: Federal taxes have gone down, not up.
And one way or another, now or later, here in Westminster or over there in Washington, this steady decrease has a cost.
Tom Zirpoli writes from Westminster. His column appears Wednesdays. E-mail him at tzirpoli@mcdaniel.edu
Tom Zirpoli: Federal taxes continue to decline
Posted: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 1:00 am | Updated: 9:51 am, Tue May 25, 2010.
This may come as a big surprise to many Americans, but 95 percent of us paid fewer federal taxes in 2009, the first year of President Barack Obama's administration, compared with 2008, the last year of President George W. Bush's administration.
In fact, most people paid fewer taxes during the Bush administration than they did during President Bill Clinton's administration.
Federal tax rates have been decreasing, not increasing as many Americans incorrectly believe.
According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, middle-income Americans with a family of four, on average, are now paying 4.6 percent of their income in federal income taxes. This is the second lowest rate in 50 years.
Why were taxes so low in 2009?
Bush cut taxes a couple of times during his administration. Obama's stimulus package added another $200 billion in cuts to middle and lower-income families. Obama's Recovery Act also provided tax breaks and credits for many home buyers and for home energy improvements. Add it all up and, according to the Citizens for Tax Justice, the federal tax bill decreased for 98 percent of Americans in 2009.
So when you hear Tea Party members crying about their taxes going up, remember the facts: Federal income taxes have been going down for most Americans. And when you hear them crying about Obama raising your taxes, listen to Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy Studies at the conservative Cato Institute: "The only tax I think that has been put in place so far is an increase in federal cigarette tax."
While most Americans celebrate decreasing federal taxes, there is a negative side to decreasing federal revenues. For one, our federal deficit is soaring. While revenue is decreasing, expenses are increasing. After all, those tax cuts and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost a lot of money!
In addition, there are fewer federal dollars available to assist state and local governments. As a result, states like Maryland and cities like Westminster must cut services and raise taxes to balance their budgets.
We all want lower taxes. But we also want the snow to be plowed off our streets in a timely manner and clean water flowing out of our faucets. We want a strong military to defend us and a reliable air traffic control system to protect us. We don't want poison in our food or terrorists on our next flight to New York. We want Social Security to be there for our parents, Medicare and Medicaid to support our sibling with developmental disabilities and health care for our children even when we are unemployed.
Tea Party members send their kids to public schools and organize their protests in public parks, all supported by a combination of federal, state and local government funding. Most Tea Party members will collect more Social Security and other federal benefits than they paid in to the system.
After the Bush tax cuts, which costs more than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we all watched as our national deficit ballooned from about $5.5 trillion the day Bush took office to about $10 trillion the day he gave the keys to the White House to Obama.
It is a good thing to have local and national conversations about taxes and the services we expect from our local, state and national governments. But when we are discussing taxes, we need to get our facts straight: Federal taxes have gone down, not up.
And one way or another, now or later, here in Westminster or over there in Washington, this steady decrease has a cost.
Tom Zirpoli writes from Westminster. His column appears Wednesdays. E-mail him at tzirpoli@mcdaniel.edu