Nearly Half of All Americans Don’t Pay Income Taxes

Nearly Half of All Americans Don’t Pay Income Taxes





This year’s Index of Dependence on Government presented startling findings about the sharp increase of Americans who rely on the federal government for housing, food, income, student aid or other assistance. (See last week’s chart.)

Another eye-popping number was the percentage of Americans who don’t pay income taxes, which now accounts for nearly half of the U.S. population. Meanwhile, most of that population receives generous federal benefits.
“One of the most worrying trends in the Index is the coinciding growth in the non-taxpaying public,” wrote Heritage authors Bill Beach and Patrick Tyrrell. “The percentage of people who do not pay federal income taxes, and who are not claimed as dependents by someone who does pay them, jumped from 14.8 percent in 1984 to 49.5 percent in 2009.”

That means 151.7 million Americans paid nothing in 2009. By comparison, 34.8 million tax filers paid no taxes in 1984.

The rapid growth of Americans who don’t pay income taxes is particularly alarming for the fate of the American form of government, Beach and Tyrrell warned. Coupled with higher spending on government programs, it is already proving to be a major fiscal challenge.

“This trend should concern everyone who supports America’s republican form of government,” Beach and Tyrrell wrote. “If the citizens’ representatives are elected by an increasing percentage of voters who pay no income tax, how long will it be before these representatives respond more to demands for yet more entitlements and subsidies from non-payers than to the pleas of taxpayers to exercise greater spending prudence?”

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/19...-half-of-all-americans-dont-pay-income-taxes/


So, taxpayers will be outnumbered and enslaved by the entitlement class. Of course, they will simply stop producing or leave for opportunities outside of the US. Who could blame them?

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This is a lie.

 

How so, my favorite fan?


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since when are old retirees and college students the entitlement class?

granny paid taxes for 40 years,....now you want want what? for her to get a job at taco bell?

 

They're called dependents. Ask your parents about them.

 

Altough there are many people who do not technically pay income tax to the Feds they often do pay SS tax, taxes on telecommunications, taxes on electricity, sales tax and a variety of taxes to state and federal entities. To say they are not "taxpayers" is an obvious lie. And often the taxes they do pay are incredibly regressive and represent a greater burden upon them than say the federal taxes a 1%er pays.

If people insist on using the Heritage Foundation as a source they will continue to post right wing lies. Can't be avoided.

 

Your very welcome to prove the numbers wrong.

 

Well since the article and the OP are about Income Tax, one would assume the reader could make the inferred connection between "tax payers" and Income Tax.

 

Does that mean that they get back every penny of the amounts that were taken out?

 

When did they become special people who dont have to pay their fair share?

 

Of Income Tax?

 

At what point does someone reach their fair share? are americans not allowed to retire anymore?

 

if they have income, they need to pay income tax.

Obama wont let anyone retire cause we're broke and he wont stop spending.

 

It's a troll post using a slanted Heritage Foundation article as a source. Do you see me making troll posts using Rachel Maddow as a source?

I never give garbage from the Heritage Foundation the benefit of the doubt. What is their point really? Millions of people in the country are children. We are coming out of the worst recession since the great depression. Millions of people are out of work. Millions of people are retired and living on a meager fixed income. What do you want to do start charging Federal income tax to five year olds? This isn't China. It's not like you can just put them to work in a shoe factory.

 

The same as using the left-wing sources that left-wingers use.

The difference being that left-wing philosophy is more forgiving when their side lies and stretches the truth than right wing philosophy is.

That is why there is so much contempt for the left, and also why only 22% of people will declare themselves 'liberals', and also why liberal politicians don't refer to themselves as 'liberals' whereas conservative politicians refer to themselves as conservatives.

Liberalism is what happens when morality is ignored. It's the dregs of society. It's the trailer trash of the mental realm.

The redneck of the intellectual sphere.

All the while telling its drones that THEY are the intellects and that the Conservatives are the bozos.

Ha. It's a laugh. That's why I am Ex-lib.

You'll wake up.

 

Sigh...I'll say it again.

The graph says "Percentage of US population not represented in tax return." Only the article mentions dependents. Someone (*)(*)(*)(*)ed up.

 

OP says nothing about income....

so you dont want my granny to have any write offs?

 

So are you saying 49.5 percent of the population are either old retirees or college kids? How about some stats to back that up.

 

Nearly Half of All Americans Don’t Pay Income Taxes

Thread Title Much?

 

right, why would someone without income, pay income taxes?

 

I have made numerous posts. Please show where I have used dubious sources for a substantial number of posts. I don't go around quoting Lawrence Odonnell or Rachel Maddow all the time.

 

Look at the graph. According to the Heritage Foundation statistics, the entitlement class or those that do not pay income taxes is 49.5%. This means 50.5% of the population are those that pay income taxes. Currently, the statement that taxpayers are outnumbered by the entitlement class is a lie, based upon the OP implication of who the entitlement class is. Of course according to these statistics and the article's slant, enslavement of the taxpayer is not that far down the road. You are entitled to your opinions, but not the facts. I understand that the Heritage Foundation has a conservative slant, and its statistics are on the high-end in this regard.

According to the Tax Policy Center, the amount of people who do not pay income taxes is approximately 47%. Either way, it is a travesty that we have such a large percentage of the population that is not paying income taxes. From my perspective, if our political sphere feels so many people should not pay income taxes, eliminate the income tax.

 

So do you think they're as big a bunch of liars as Maddow, Huffington Post, Media Matter, Daily KOS and MSNBC in general?

Jeez, Heritage isn't THAT bad, is it?

 

Just some of the time?

Jeb, I don't remember anything you've ever written. All I have taken from your posts is that you are a liberal who isn't interested in accuracy as much as you are in winning.
If I am confusing you with other crazed liberals in this forum, I apologize.

If you'd like me to read a post of yours which you consider very fair and balanced, tell me which one you want me to read, and I'll be glad to do it.

 

The real crime is those that pay no income taxes and get back more than they paid in SS/FICA. Have a lot of kids and live off welfare? Well through EITC get 8k back for 3 kids!

Sweet! tax day is bonus day for the poor, hell for the middle class, and easy breezing day for the rich!