What is the biggest scam on average, everyday Americans? The Real reason why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Information the ruling elite, the media, most politicians, and the wealthiest and most powerful people don’t want you to ever know or understand! Plus a few other bits of information the main stream media does not want you to know.
Publication date, Monday, October 10, 2012Copyright © 2012 by Howard Johnson.
How I see myself and how to understand my words. I provide this introduction so you can better understand the basis and origin of what I have to say.
I am a believer in myself and those individuals I trust.
I trust no politician, political operative, or political activist I do not know personally, and very few of those I do.
I see both politics and religion as powerful belief systems often misused by unscrupulous individuals to control others for their own purpose.
I am not a follower of or beholden to any ism, group belief system (religious, political or other), political party, union, peer group, grant committee, dean or head of faculty, political or other boss, or corporate officer at any level. For this reason, I am free to speak my mind and express my own opinions without concern for or apology to anyone or any group.
I consider myself a truly independent and quite liberal individual, a realist who knows what it means to conserve, an equal opportunity supporter or offender, although any offense taken is not intentional.
I am not ever in any way controlled, intimidated or cowed by any kind of political correctness. I believe it to be a creation of the media to coerce people into speaking and thinking the way they determine. It is merely one more system elitist intellectuals use to try to control others, mostly the gullible, unthinking sheep so many Americans have become.
I will not accept as a fact, any words, concepts or ideas that do not meet the tests of logic, reason and/or hard science as I understand them. My opinions and beliefs are subject to change when and if new information makes a change necessary. I see the inflexible, closed mind - the mind of the fundamentalist of any flavor, religious, political, or other - as an evil curse on the individual whose mind is closed for any reason.
I believe in treating every individual with respect and honesty. These both deserve respect and honesty in return. However, I see no reason to be bound to do the same when faced with disrespect or dishonesty, but I will expect respect and honesty first.
I try to deal with every person with consideration in all of these things.
—Howard Johnson, 2011
End of Introduction
End of Introduction
“There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still have to prove our worth anew each day: we have to prove that we are as good today as we were yesterday. But when we have a valid alibi for not achieving anything we are fixed, so to speak, for life. Moreover, when we have an alibi for not writing a book, painting a picture and so on, we have an alibi for not writing the greatest book and not painting the greatest picture. Small wonder that the effort expended and the punishment endured in obtaining a good alibi often exceed the effort and grief requisite for the attainment of a most marked achievement.”
—Eric Hoffer
OK, all you poor American suckers, now that politicians are making you still poorer, get ready for a real shock. Something the powers that are running your country don’t want you ever to hear about or understand. You are being scammed by those who are running the country: the ruling elite, the media, the politicians, and the wealthiest and most powerful people. Forget everything you hear about class warfare, soak the rich and make them pay their fair share.
It’s all a big lie, a monstrous smokescreen, a cleverly perpetrated deception used to hide the reality from you and help those using you to get more: more money, more power, more control of your life. All this is being taken from you without your knowing it.
Why is that reality? Read and weep.
Do you like the idea of soaking the wealthy with income taxes? Does all that make them pay their fair share rhetoric strike a chord with you? As one of the 99% do you despise the 1% for all that wealth, that opulence they display? Are you envious of their huge homes, their expensive cars and yachts, their private jets, their expensive clothes, their jewelry, their many servants, and even their celebrity? Do you resent the fact that they rarely seem to have to work, that many can just parade around with their wealthy friends on the playgrounds of the rich all over the world?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have been duped by the perpetrators of the biggest lie ever foisted off on the common folk.
While you fume and fuss about all that growing wealth of the few, they are steadily moving more and more of your money into their pockets and laughing all the way to the bank. You can see it plainly if you look. The evidence is clear as the nose on your face; it’s everywhere. All you have to do is follow the money to discover the reality. Those smug and nasty wealthy people, those giant corporations, those greedy politicians, and all those big business and professional people keep getting more and more while the hard-working common folk have less and less. All the while you hear from the talking heads on TV and all politicians how they are trying to help the little guy, the small business entrepreneur, the worker, Joe Six-pack and Susy Shopper. At the same time they promise to punish the wealthy with more and higher taxes.
That is all pure bull and almost all of you buy into it. Like the poor fish, you take the bait and accept it all, hook line and sinker.
Actually, there are two huge scams in operation. Both are deliberately embedded in complex systems designed to hide the truth from the public. The first is the Internal Revenue Code. This huge and continually growing body of complex legislation is supposedly the tool for a taxing system that takes more money in taxes the more a person makes. What a joke that is. With all the loopholes, deductions, and complex accounting jargon, this monster has created a huge industry of lawyers and accountants whose sole function is to dig through the reams of documents and find those loopholes for their clients, those wealthy enough to hire lawyers and accountants. How do you suppose GE, one of America’s largest and most profitable corporations, manages to pay virtually no income taxes on huge profits year after year? And who created those hidden loopholes, and why are they there in the first place?
The reality? It’s the good old boy and girl network of legislators and lobbyists who create all these loopholes (actually give-aways) for the financial benefit of the members of Congress and their benefactors. All of this goes on behind closed doors, in closed sessions, or under the table, well hidden from the eyes of the public.
I would like to describe an experience I had where I learned the true meaning of the phrase, under the table. It was a revelation to me. Our small construction company was in a council meeting of a suburb of Cleveland Ohio. We were there to request a zoning change to build a small commercial building, a very minor request. This was a public meeting. We were seated around three sides of a large table on the stage of a school auditorium. There were six councilmen, the mayor, three gentlemen from a shopping center developer, my partner, and I. On the table in front of each official were small stacks of papers, mostly projects for council consideration. Under the table, each official had a satchel on the floor near their feet. The three men from the developer had large briefcases by their feet. The front of the table facing the audience in the auditorium was covered by a cloth skirt blocking any view by the audience of what went on under the table.
The first presentation was by the developer. After the presentation describing the benefits to the community of a fifty-acre shopping center, each official asked questions of the developers. I noticed each official was seated a bit away from the table with their hands in their laps. From my position, I could just see the hands of the nearest councilman. To my amazement I saw he was holding bundles of $100 bills. As the discussion among the officials continued I realized packets of $100 bills were being distributed under the table and out of sight of the audience while the public discussion continued in plain sight. During the discussion, several of the officials including the mayor kept glancing toward their hands. The distribution of cash continued until finally with a nodding of heads, the council decided to vote on the issue. Surprise! Surprise! They voted to approve the shopping center. Later, I learned from one of my politician friends that each councilman had received about $10,000 while the mayor got $20,000. This experience gave me a new understanding of the term, under the table.
As far as I am concerned, this is almost exactly what goes on behind the scenes in Washington except the stakes are so very much larger and the means of hiding them so much more sophisticated. Things like multi million dollar book deals where the publisher legally writes off what in reality was an illegal payoff. Another is contractor kickbacks so common in the construction of public works. Closely related is the final use of union sweetheart single supplier insurance deals and compulsory union dues mostly from public sector unions.
Actually, the creation of tax loopholes for benefactors is by far the biggest boondoggle in dollars paid for by the American taxpayer. While the IRS code may be the biggest to date, Obamacare will soon be a close rival. The opportunity is so huge, so complex, and so easily hidden, it will immediately become a huge benefit for politicians, criminal organizations and scam artists of all kinds. Most of these will be political cronies and bedfellows of the politicians who drafted the legislation. Notice how huge and complex the law is. The better to hide skulduggery my dear.
The second and best hidden of the two huge scams involves the realities of taxes. Your government may collect taxes from business and professionals, but where do you suppose the source of that money really and truly resides? Its source is never even hinted at by those in power or by the media. This is all a part of a huge scam, an emotional trick, designed to stir the emotions of the public and hide the truth. Remember the saying, Follow the money? That’s really all you need do. To find the truth. If you follow the tax money to its source an amazing realty comes to light. All tax money, all of it, every penny, comes from you every day Americans, Joe Sixpack and Susy Shopper. You, the general public, the average American, are the final consumer of every product or the end user of every service and the only ones who actually provides the money that pays taxes.
When that consumption or use of service is purchased by and becomes an expense for a business or profession, any business or profession, every expense, purchase, and tax involved is passed on to the end user, the final purchaser. In the end, the true source of every tax dollar is the general public, the final purchaser of all goods and services. The only time those involved in commerce or the professions actually pay any tax is when they are unable to pass it down in the cost of their products and/or services, when they buy it for their own personal use. This is the only time when they actually pay taxes. Of course, if they can get by with including even personal purchases as business expenses, they are passing it down in the price of the goods or services that they sell.
This is true of all true consumer purchases, gasoline, food, clothes, appliances, cars, boats, dental or medical services, and legal or accounting services. The recording of every financial transaction reported on a profit and loss (P&L) statement or tax return for any business or profession goes into one of two categories, income or outlay. Technically, cost of goods sold is not an expense, but a purchase. Still, it belongs on the outlay or negative side of the ledger, ir reduces profits. Where do you suppose taxes go on the ledger? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that taxes, like purchases and expenses, does not go on the income side, but always are on the outlay side of the ledger.
Where does the money for tax expense come from? Like every other outlay, it is passed down to the purchaser of the goods and services in the price they pay. These taxes, like every outlay, are passed through all transactions until they reach the end user or consumer. The end of the chain no matter how long actually provides the money to pay all taxes just like all other expenses or outlays. That is the hard reality and it is irrefutable.
Let’s look at another P&L statement, a very simplified one, the one for our government. Every dollar the government pays or gives away added together is the expense side of the ledger. One estimate of the total state, local, and federal government outlay for 2012 is $6.3 trillion. If past estimates and corrections are considered, it will probably be in excess of $7 trillion. At the same time, the Gross Domestic Product is about $15.5 trillion. The GNP is the total output of goods and services in the nation, roughly the dollar value for all the wealth created by the private sector. A quick calculation will provide the tax rate required to maintain this level of expenditures. That rate is now about 41%. In other words, on average, $41 out of every dollar of the GNP goes to federal, state, and local governments as taxes.
But wait a minute, much of our GNP is products and services for businesses. All of the taxes passed down through business finally end up in the consumer economy. The consumer economy is $7.7 trillion. $6.3 trillion of that amount represents tax dollars passed to the consumer through the business economy. That works out to 82% of consumer dollars represent taxes. Unbelievable! As everyone knows, that is not actually true because a large portion of the money to cover government expenditures has recently been coming from borrowing and not taxes. In 2012, that amount will be about $2 trillion. That reduces the tax portion of the consumer economy to $4.3 trillion. That works out to 56% of consumer dollars that represents taxes passed through. That also means that the $2 billion will be added to government future expenditures. That’s what we are passing down to our children and grandchildren. Nice gift, isn’t it?
That’s impossible you say. It can’t be. Those wealthy business people all pay taxes. They can’t escape them. If they make lots of money they pay even higher tax rates. Our wonderful government and the IRS see to that. But wait just a minute. Back up a bit. Where does the merchant, the businessman, the professional, get that money to pay all those taxes? Where does it show up on his tax return? Where are tax payments on a business or professional financial report? Where do their accountants include taxes on their annual report? Let’s look at a very simple and common business, say a paint store or hardware store that sells paint.
Joe Brown sells paint in his paint store. That’s all he sells. He pays $9 a gallon for paint and sells it for $15 a gallon. The difference or gross profit is $6 a gallon, the difference between what he pays for the paint and what he sells it for. Let’s say he sells 200,000 gallons of paint during a year. That’s a gross profit of $1,200,000. Out of that he pays rent, advertising, payroll (including his part of payroll taxes) interest on debt, and all his other expenses. Let’s say they add up to $1,000,000 for the year. This leaves him with a net profit of $200,000, a nice profit, right?
His P&L statement and tax return for 2012 show the following:
Income @ $15 per gallon . . . . . . . . . . .$3,000,000
Cost of goods sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,800,000
Gross Profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,200,000
Expenses other than payroll . . . . . . . . . . .$258,000Payroll, net to employees . . . . . . . . . . . . $300,000
Payroll Taxes, FICA, etc . . . . . . . . . . . . . $80,000
Franchise and Misc Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . $70,000
All Other Taxes, (embedded or hidden) . $292,000
Net Profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $200,000
Income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$50,000
After tax profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $150,000
Total of all taxes in operation . . . . . . . . .$492,000
(Actually paid by the consumer in the price of the paint)
The previous statement showed $492,000 in taxes from the money consumers paid for the paint they bought. But wait, that’s only 16.4% of the purchase by consumers and we know that government expenditures are about 44% of GNP, the true tax rate. That additional 27.6% has to be in hidden taxes buried elsewhere in expenses and not otherwise identified as tax.
Now, let’s look at the same P&L statement for 2013 with one of Obama’s minimal tax proposals in effect. This takes into account all proposed income tax changes and is based on the store owner having the very same buying power in his net profit, (what he pays himself) and on his selling the same amount of paint. To do this he must raise the cost of his paint to $17.65 per gallon. This is why raising taxes raises the costs of everything, without exception.
Income @ $17.65 per gallon . . . . . . . . . . .$3,527,500
Cost of goods sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,116,500
Gross Profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,411,000
Expenses other than payroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . $298,490
Payroll, net to employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$360,000
Payroll Taxes, FICA, etc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$100,000
Franchise and Misc Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$80,000
All Other Taxes, (embedded or hidden). . . .$341,510
Net Profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $231,000
Income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $57,000
After tax profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $174,000
Total of all taxes in operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$578,510
(Actually paid by the consumer in the price of the paint)
This statement shows $578,510 in taxes from the money consumers paid for the paint they bought. But wait, that’s only 16.4% of the purchase by consumers and we know that government expenditures are about 44% of GNP, the true tax rate. That additional 27.6% has to be in hidden taxes buried elsewhere in expenses and not otherwise identified as tax.
Anyone who has prepared a business plan or budget for a business knows that to determine pricing of goods and services one must make an estimate of the total operation of the business and all expenses including taxes. No matter where taxes are entered in a P&L statement, they are always expenses. Anyone who does not price products or services to include all expenses, will probably lose money and soon be out of business.
So, Mr. and Ms. Consumer, the way our taxing system is set up, you are the one who really and truly pays all taxes no matter how poor or how wealthy you are. That are only two ways taxes are actually paid by any individual, regardless of their income. One is when they pay their own personal income tax and half of Americans pay no income taxes. The other is the 46¢ out of every dollar they spend on non business goods and services. Every tax paid by corporations, business or professional people who sell goods and services is passed down the buying chain to the consumer. This is an absolute truism whether you like it or not, and regardless of what the ruling elite, the media, most politicians, and the wealthiest and most powerful people are telling you. For obvious reasons, they really don’t want you to ever know or understand this fact!
Are you going to do anything about it or just lie there and take it? There are those who are trying, but they are loudly opposed by the above mentioned groups.
Who is it that really and truly pays taxes - Friday, July 6, 2012
For those of you who don’t like my political views, this piece is completely non partisan. It is written so people can understand the effects on everyone that taxes have and how many taxes on the “wealthy” are actually paid by average and even poor Americans. Unfortunately, most Americans are so ignorant of economics they may have difficulty understanding the reality of who actually pays taxes.
Who is it that really and truly pays all those taxes, and I mean all, every penny? That includes all payroll taxes, income taxes, FICA, unemployment taxes, sales or value added taxes, real estate taxes, and all those hidden taxes on practically everything. I'm sure you have heard all those comments about 51% of Americans paying no income taxes at all, mostly those with low incomes.
The Washington ruling elite, their bureaucrats and many of the wealthiest Americans would like you to believe that, but it is patently untrue.
In actual fact, those who pay no income taxes pay a larger portion of their disposable income to the government than those who do pay income taxes. Statistically, the more income above the minimum required for basic necessities one has, the smaller the percentage taxes take out of total income.
Politicians, mostly liberal politicians, like to use class warfare in their rhetoric about income tax rates for "the wealthy." Unfortunately for the masses and especially for the poorest Americans, those same politicians have built an income taxing system that is extremely complex. They designed and continue to add to it, countless exemptions and deductions (the infamous tax loopholes) for their friends and supporters. These loopholes are finagled by lobbyists for an immense range of beneficiaries. How often do you hear about wealthy individuals or companies who pay little or no income taxes? Remember GE last year? If you are wealthy enough, you can buy exemptions from almost any tax for a tiny part of that amount in campaign donations or even slipped "under the table" to the right people. As an example, many ccorporations counted among Obama supporters have all ready been given exemptions for many of the costliest sections of Obamacare. Still. that doesn't change anything about who actually pays those income taxes as described in the rest of this paper.
Corporations, businesses, professionals, any person or organization that provides goods or services, do not actually pay any of these taxes. They merely pass these costs down to the end users or consumers. The only time they actually pay taxes is when they, as individuals buy something as a consumer.
This means that the entire cost of government is borne by those same end users and consumers. At 32% of GDP as it was in 2007, 32¢ of each and every dollar spent by every consumer is tax. This applies to rich and poor alike. Since 2007, liberal Democrat spending aided by Obama’s efforts, has upped that to 44% of GDP. That has increased taxes on everyone by 37.5%, more than a third. The estimates the CBO made as to the cost of Obamacare is pathetic. As usual, it will probably cost more than four times the CBO estimate, should it be implemented. This cost will raise the tax portion of everything to at least 50%, another raise in the taxes paid by everyone of 13.64%.. This means that by 2014, the taxes paid by everyone will have increased by 56.25% in just 7 years.
Let’s follow some tax dollars and see who actually pays—where the tax debt ends up. The figures reported have been taken from the actual financial statements of real companies. The names have been changed to prevent law suits.
EXAMPLE, STEP 1: XYZ Mining in Arizona digs copper ore out of the ground in several Arizona copper mines. They refine the ore and sell it to copper users. In 2010 their sales were nearly a $billion. Their net earnings before taxes were $211 million, or 21.1% of sales. Federal income taxes on those earnings were $47 million. Taxes other than income taxes were $22 million. These included state and local taxes, franchise taxes, and federal direct mining taxes. Payroll taxes, including both portions of FICA were $67 million. The total tax portion of XYZ’s expenses were $136 million or 13.6% of total sales. Out of every $1,000 worth of copper sold, $136 was for taxes that the purchaser of the copper actually paid for. XYZ simply passed that tax burden on to those who bought their copper, a fabricator or manufacturer.
STEP 2: ABC fabricating of Texas bought the raw copper ingots from XYZ and produced copper pipe among many other products. A financial analysis similar to XYZ shows that for every $1,000 worth of pipe sold, $227 was for taxes. Factoring in the portion of the taxes XYZ paid, adds $42 to that amount for a total of $269 out of the $1,000 of sales. This amount is simply passed on down the chain to the purchaser of the pipe, a contractor.
STEP 3: A building contractor in Dallas bought some of this pipe for a major building project. A financial analysis similar to XYZ and ABC shows that for every $1,000 worth of pipe used and priced in the project, $296 was for taxes. Factoring in the portion of the taxes XYZ and ABC paid, adds $84 to that amount for a total of $380 out of the $1,000 of the contract price. This amount is simply passed on down the chain to the purchaser of the pipe, a building owner.
STEP 4: The building owner leases space in the building to a group of dentists. Their financial analysis shows that for every $1,000 of the building lease income attributable to the extensive copper piping in their suite, $198 was for taxes. Factoring in the portion of the previous taxes paid adds $123 to that amount for a total of $321 out of each $1,000 of the rent paid by the dentists. This amount is simply passed on down the chain to the dentists who lease the space.
STEP 5: The group of dentists have many patients that pay for their dental services. Their financial analysis shows that for every $1,000 of the patient fees they receive, $321 was for taxes. Factoring in the portion of the previous taxes paid adds $140 to that amount for a total of $461 out of each $1,000 of the fees paid by the patients. This amount, the entire tax burden applied to each of the 5 steps combined, is actually paid by the end user, the patient who is at the end of the chain, the final or end user.
Conclusion: It is always the end user of any product or service that actually pays every penny of all taxes. This tax burden falls on rich and poor alike and, as in the above example, currently averages about $46 out of every $100 spent by every individual, regardless of income or wealth status. That percentage can be accurately calculated another way. Currently, our federal government consumes about 41% of our GNP. Add to that approximately 5% consumed by state and local governments. It’s funny how that adds up to the same $46 out of every $100 spent by every individual, regardless of income or wealth status.
Raising taxes always increases the cost of absolutely everything. From gasoline to bread to apartment rent to health care, increasing taxes will always raise these prices for the consumer. By the same token, lowering taxes will always lower these prices for the consumer. These are demonstrable and proven facts from time immemorial. So, no matter how you slice it, the poor always pay a far higher portion of their needed income from any and all sources, than do those not considered among the poor. The less income one has, the more important that portion is that goes up the chain to pay all those taxes. Said another way, the loss of that $46 out of every $100 spent is much more damaging the less income one has. That $46 is far more important to a low income family trying to get by, than to a slightly wealthy family or even the one down the street making $50k per year.
EXAMPLE 1. A poor family has a total income including welfare payments of $1,600 a month. They pay no income taxes. Assuming they spend all of their income, 46% of what they spend, or $736 is taxes that were passed down the chain. Their total taxes are $736 or 46% of their income
EXAMPLE 2. Another family makes about $5,000 a month. They invest $500 per month in savings and pay $225 for income taxes. They also have a mortgage payment of $1,000 each month. This leaves them with $3,275 of disposable income which they use for all household necessities, food, clothing, transportation, insurance, etc. etc. Assuming they spend it all, 46% or $1,622 is taxes that were passed down the chain. Their total taxes are $1,847 or 34.63% of their income.
EXAMPLE 3. Another family makes about $15,000 a month. They invest $3000 per month in savings and stocks, and pay $2,000 for income taxes. They also have a mortgage payment of $3,000 each month. This leaves them with $7,000 of disposable income which they use for all household necessities, food, clothing, transportation, insurance, etc. etc. Assuming they spend it all, 46% or $3,268 is taxes that were passed down the chain. Their total taxes are $5,164 or 34.43% of their income
EXAMPLE 4: Another “wealthy” family makes about $100,000 a month. They invest $40,000 per month in stocks and savings, and pay $15,000 for income taxes. They also have a mortgage payment of $10,000 each month. They make charitable donations of $5,000 per month. This leaves them with $30,000 of disposable income which they use for all household necessities, food, clothing, transportation, insurance, etc. etc. Assuming they spend it all, 46% or $13,800 is taxes that were passed down the chain. Their total taxes are $28,800 or 28.8% of their income.
Lets see, here’s the resulting tax table:
Family (monthly) Income Disposable Taxes Tax % Left to Invest
Poor $1,600 $1,600 $736 46.0% $0
Lower middle $5,000 $3,525 $1,847 34.63% $500
Upper middle $15,000 $7,104 $5,220 34.43% $3,000
Wealthy $100,000 $30,000 $28,800 28.8% $40,000
Who thinks this is fair?
The table below gives the same figures with the “Fair Tax” 15-25% base
Family (monthly Income Taxes Tax % Left to Invest
Poor $1,600 $0 0.0% $0
Lower middle $5,000 $750 15.0% $1,955
Upper middle $15,000 $3,250 21.7% $4,970
Wealthy $100,000 $25,000 25.0% $43,800
The table below gives the same figures with the “Fair Tax” 20-30% base
Family (monthly) Income Taxes Tax % Left to Invest
Poor $1,600 $0 0.0% $0
Lower middle $5,000 $1,000 20.0% $1,445
Upper middle $15,000 $4,000 21.7% $4,220
Wealthy $100,000 $30,000 30.0% $38,800
It is obvious from this information and from the examination of the P&L statements from any business that business do not pay taxes, they merely collect them from their customers and pass them on to the government. They represent a substantial part of every end user purchase of goods and services completely paid for by individuals as long as they are not a business expense. In 2006 the percentage that represented tax was 32%. That figure has blossomed to 44% since liberal Democrats took over Congress and the White house. By 2014 it will swell to at least 50% thanks mostly to the Obamacare tax. While this number is growing, business profits and thus tax revenue, will shrink as the economy sinks farther and farther into the tank.
So, I repeat, who really pays the taxes? The sad truth of the matter is that very few members of the public understand the realities of any taxes. Every business, large or small, every professional, every taxable entity or organization—all workers—appear to pay taxes to many governments. But just who is it that actually pays these taxes? Corporations do not pay taxes. Businesses do not pay taxes. Professionals in their professions do not pay taxes. Organizations including those who are not-for-profit do not pay taxes. All of these “taxpayers” merely collect those taxes from customers, clients or employees in the price of their products and services and then pass them onto the government just like the much more obvious sales tax. Even the so-called company paid portion of FICA taxes add to the cost of an employee and so are really taken from the employee.
What happens if lawmakers enact windfall profits tax at 50% of net profits? It's really quite simple. Every dollar increase in taxes will be met with a slightly larger total increase in fuel prices at the pump to make up for the increased cost of doing business. As with all business, this cost will be passed through to the consumer or end user.. So who is paying that excess profits tax? It's the ignorant motorist who voted those incompetent oafs into office.
So you see, no matter how you cut it, the average American, Joe Six-pak and Suzy Shopper, get the short end of the stick, the raw deal. He or she pays the most for everything and definitely pays the largest share of their income in taxes. They have no lobbyist or advocate working to save them tax dollars or hand them freebies from the treasury. Every time you hear the cry, “Soak the rich.” or “Make the rich pay their fair share.” it’s a complete and total fraud. All those millionaires and billionaires in and supported by Congress get favorable treatment by their Congressmen while they pass the real tax burden on to consumers. The poor ignorant common folk get screwed. The amazing thing to me is that they keep electing these thieves. Can they actually be that stupid? Maybe they have a Jim Jones worshiping complex and willingly drink the Kool Aide of class envy and hatred they are being given.
Some quotes on the subject:
The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other peoples money.
—Margaret Thatcher (England’s Iron Lady)
Socialism has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it
—Thomas Sowell.
The liberal Democrat party in the US has a record of failure, corruption and greed so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.
—Howard Johnson
Add a few drops of venom to a half truth and you have an absolute truth.
—Eric Hoffer
Enlightened people seldom or never possess a sense of responsibility.
—George Orwell
A trained flea can do most things a Congressman does.
—Mark Twain
The United States will be a socialist dictatorship by 2030. At that time, leftist activists will be happily extolling the joys of socialism while being carted off in cattle cars to the salt mines.
People unfit for freedom—who cannot do much with it—are hungry for power. The desire for freedom is an attribute of a have type of self. It says, leave me alone and I shall grow, learn, and realize my capabilities. The desire for power is basically an attribute of a have not type of self.
—Howard Johnson
—Eric Hoffer
A government policy to rob Peter to pay Pal can be assured of the support of Paul.
—George Bernard Shaw
It seems our present government has deliberately destroyed many Peters and created a large number of Pauls to insure support.
—Howard Johnson
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.
—Philip K. Dick
—Howard Johnson
