Comments on: 2009 Federal Income Tax Brackets (Official IRS Tax Rates)

By: John T.

John T. — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:03:46 +0000

Look, it’s very simple folks. The graduated income tax IS in and of itself socialistic. But, As long as times are good, “most” are content. But, when times get tough, and our free market economy goes through one of its inevitable slowdowns, (there ARE periods of boom and bust), you can count on the liberals come screaming once again with their class warfare crap, of how “bad” the “common man” has it and how good the “rich” have it, and how the “rich” “owes” it to society to pony up EVEN MORE because they obviously have it, and don’t “need” it.
Now here we are with the entire country broke and their coming for more money to the only ones left who have it: Those who have made it, but, more importantly, was responsible with it and SAVED AND INVESTED IT for their OWN better tomorrow.

The problem with America is this: The people of this country have become spoiled, entitled, and simply lazy, and big government has helped to push them along each step of the way with its “help”.

By: jack

jack — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:36:55 +0000

Well let me say we still have a unjust goverment and system regardless of the system at hand. i have to write a 6k check to the goverment from Bank of America sending me a 1099 for a debt we settled. I am lost on how I should be required to pay for their 25% intrest while fighting them over a mnissed payment the accepting a settelment amount. I have closed just about all my cards. They jacked my rates from 3-6% to 18-27% because we made some law changes. Now I am forced into bankrupcy due to the system. They had this note for many years and made a good profit at 8% so if they wrote the balance off why do I pay federal taxes on the amount? The system is flawed and the F-N half black eating good realy could not care. I ready to move out of this country where you are guilty untill proven inocent and your taxed on money you never recived. Constitution my ass , this is survival of the richest.

By: phil pauley

phil pauley — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:25:57 +0000

Good riddance Andrew K !!! I am ashamed that you are one of my fellow citizens. Your views are nonsense/ I can understand why you get tossed out of bars! It might be a good idea for you to look at the Constitution … Amendment XVI almost 100 years ago authorized Congress to collect Income Taxes, it isn’t a nasty Socialist /Obama scheme! It was necessary back then because high tariffs were reduced and money was needed to pay for World War One. Unfortunately we still have a huge amount of military spending and must “provide for the general welfare”(see the Preamble); you know all those old and sick people,those schools and highways,etc,etc. You gotta be a Tea Party addict to not understand that the world has progressed a bit since 1776 !!!

By: Andrew K

Andrew K — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 09:36:55 +0000

Lew, well said! I think this country is finally waking up to the realization that the left are hypocrites and taking away the rights guaranteed in the Constitution. Most should be in jail. Just tonight, I had two bar employees (or “bouncers”) push me down a public street saying I couldn’t stand there (in a public street). I was doing nothing illegal, but two police officers (who were obviously bribed) said I had to listen to them. This is society gone mad, left-winged government officials, weak-minded and oppressive, building a new country that I, admittingly, am ashamed to be a part of. Never, in my life, before Obama and Pelosi, have I said this: I am ashamed to be an American citizen! This country is in for what it voted for: handouts, disincentive, high taxation, bankruptcy, and the like. Bottom line: all of the rational, “greedy” young, hard-working professionals are not being heard. I’m leaving, this fight is not one that can be won through reason or objective correct economic policy. Good riddance to Rick and the rest of the left, I hope you enjoy what the USSR was!

By: phil pauley

phil pauley — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:58:29 +0000

Andrew K,

Thanks for your comments…I think in essence we agree! In reviewing my comments (154) I should have said in(1) “There are no steps in the EFFECTIVE tax rates as you go from one tax bracket to the next”, which is my main point, but is often misunderstood. You are quite correct in pointing out that there are steps in the marginal tax rates but there are, of course, no steps in the effective tax rates. You are also correct to point out that the “next dollars” are taxed at their marginal bracket rates but the resulting effective rates are always lower (except in the first tax bracket). My only disagreement is your calling the effective tax rate the AVERAGE tax rate… they are the ACTUAL tax rates, not the “average”. I hope a few more people join in to help clarify these points instead of a lot of weird comments!!!

By: Andrew K

Andrew K — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:56:22 +0000

Phil,

Looking at your earlier statement, I think you may be confusing marginal tax rates with effective tax rates. The effective tax rate is the AVERAGE tax rate paid. For example, if your tax liability is $20K on $100K, your effective tax rate is 20% (like your example above). The marginal tax rate is the tax ON THE NEXT DOLLAR of income earned. To continue with the example before, at $100K, your next $1 of income will be taxed $.28 (we will exclude deductions and credits to simply the illustration), but your effective tax rate will be lower. In a progressive income tax rate system, your effective tax rate grows steadily over time but will never be as high as your marginal tax rate after leaving the lowest tax bracket. In essence, effective (or weighted average) tax rate increases in a steady fashion with income where marginal tax rates (taxes on the next dollar of income) “step up” suddenly at certain trigger points (i.e. from 20% to 25% for single filers at $82,250).

By: Rick B

Rick B — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:08:38 +0000

lew…this country will always have some degree of socialism. I guess you’re all for eliminating police and fire protection, too? That’s a form of socialism. We all pay taxes so that if one of us needs those services, they are there. So are taxes for roads and bridges. So is insurance. So is SS. So is Medicare. Are you for eliminating all of those things and making a go of it totally on your own? I take it you’re all for going back to riding a horse around town since there won’t be any paved roads to ride on. Some people just seem to go overboard with this whole socialism thing as a means to vent. Just my opinion.

My mom and dad had huge Medicare bills over the last few years and they paid nothing because they have a supplemental policy that pays whatever Medicare doesn’t pay. Without it, they’d be broke. Where would your mom be without her socialistic Mediciare?

Unfortunately, we Americans are very spoiled. We’ve lived a life of milk and honey for decades and now that the rest of the world is wanting what we have, it’s getting more difficult for us to stay ahead of the pack. Looks like we’ve decided to fight each other instead of banding together and doing what’s right and productive.

I agree that many politicians are corrupt. However, there are some that really want to do good. Problem is, you can’t always stay in office with good intentions. Our country is in for some very tough times ahead. I sure hope we get through it.

By: Rick B

Rick B — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 21:55:06 +0000

Taxes suck…if your son’s income is truly the same as last year, his taxes should be about the same. Therefore, there has to be an issue with the withholding amount or loss of some deduction. More of your son’s income was subject to the 10% bracket in 2009 compared to 2008 rather than the 15% bracket. What you need to compare is the total tax owed for the two years. They should be about the same. Don’t look at what is owed at tax time. He may have to adjust his witholding.

By: lew

lew — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:33:44 +0000

Forgive me for the limited English in my last post!

By: lew

lew — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:32:47 +0000

They might not be, but they do swear to God. God stating an oath with God as part of it, IS ‘religious’.

Govt. is corrupt almost 100%.

Nor did I didn’t say no govt. I said a CONSTITUTIONAL government. We could fix the vast majority of issues we have right now if we did so. Just remember, the poor will ALWAYS be with you. Doesn’t abdicate responsibility of helping out… just a statement of fact that will never change.

American’s, at least have the power of the vote? Um… I find that somewhat funny considering most didn’t vote for socialized medicine, the patriot act, and so many other things we could list. It’s foisted upon them. The problem is that most are receiving a benefit of some type from the public trough and are easily bought off.

By: lew

lew — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:00:02 +0000

Rick,

My limited understanding of the BScouts was that they swore to the Christian God. Whether that’s true isn’t really all that important. I actually disagree with you and Andrew on taxing religious orgs no matter their affiliation. The Framers never intended for them to be taxed and weren’t even considered to be done so.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/rel_liberty/establishment/topic.aspx?topic=tax_exemptions

I will agree with you Andrew on who wastes the most money and is most corrupt though. If you took care of that and we had an actual heaven forbid, Constitutional government, we wouldn’t have this conversation.

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:15:25 +0000

Hi All,

I require a Late Filing Interest and Penalty rate table for all the States for tax year 2010 to make it simpler for me to calculate it. Can anyone get it for me. I have tried the Tax Almanac website but they give out only Underpayment rates.

Thanks,

Nick

By: Rick B

Rick B — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:10:19 +0000

Here’s a prime example of why the rich and other special interests will never allow a flat tax without loopholes to fly:

Divorce Filing Reveals How the Rich Stay RichUpdated: 2 hours 23 minutes ago
Print Text Size E-mail MoreScott Martelle

AOL News LOS ANGELES (Feb. 24) — As F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, “The rich are different from you and me” — and apparently never more so than at tax time.

Legal papers filed in connection with the high-profile divorce here of Jamie and Frank McCourt, whose portfolio includes the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, show that the couple took in $108 million from 2004 to 2009 and didn’t pay a penny in income tax, according a Los Angeles Times report.

Vince Bucci, Getty Images
Frank and Jamie McCourt, here in 2008, are locked in a high-profile divorce battle.
The McCourts made their money in real estate, primarily in Boston, before buying the team in 2004. So rancorous is the divorce that even the team’s ownership is in contention. Frank McCourt claims he owns the team individually; Jamie McCourt claims she owns half.

The McCourts apparently used legal tax mechanisms, including depreciating property, to offset the income. But that isn’t likely to make the news any more palatable for people affected by high unemployment, record home foreclosures and tanked retirement accounts.

Or, for that matter, for Dodgers fans. The team announced this week it is raising ticket prices for the coming season.
Filed under: Nation, Money, Sports

By: Tax revolt

Tax revolt — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:23:54 +0000

FLAT TAX………………..dam people when u going to learn…………………….

By: Rick B

Rick B — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:28:26 +0000

Jim,
You are very correct. The tax tables do not tell the whole story. The rich can avail themselves of many outs. The same applies for American businesses. I always hear about the supposed high tax rate on American companies but when you dig deeper, you find that very few ever pay taxes at a high rate. The tax code allows for them to find ways to avoid paying taxes. Again, this is supposed to be good in that benefits will eventually trickle down to the average guy. Not much trickling over the past couple of decades as the working and middle classes have slowly been squeezed. More squeezing is on the way in the not too distant future as the crap is about to hit the fan. We cannot keep running up the deficit and support all of the programs we now have. There will need to be more scrutiny of, and compromise in, programs and more revenue coming into the treasury for American to get back on its feet. It will be painful and take a long time. Right now the monied interests still have a strong grip on the levers of power but eventually that will give way to the masses who will become more vocal about the future of the country.