Who’s Really Paying The ‘Fair’ Share?

To the Editor:

The top one percent, although paying 40 percent of our taxes, ($920 billion of the $2.3 trillion taken in 2011) is not fair enough for Obama. He says it puts too much burden on the middle class. The top 10 percent of the payers, according to the Congressional Business Office pay more than 70 percent of our federal income taxes. That’s $1.54 trillion of the $2.3 trillion collected in 2011. “Middle-class families shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. That’s pretty straightforward. It’s hard to argue against that.” says Obama. It’s hard to argue with that because they don’t pay higher taxes. Obama says he wants to make sure millionaires are taxed at higher rates than their secretaries. The data say they already are. On average, the richest people in America pay significantly more taxes than the middle class and the poor combined. Private and government data indicate the wealthy pay a higher tax rate and contribute significantly more taxes. The President isolates a single case that supports his egalitarian argument and then promotes it as if it were the norm.

By not supporting drilling, keeping companies from increasing our homeland supply, he forces refineries to close, increasing imports, which, in turn stimulates speculation. If an oil company can make more money selling oil at a lower price because of increased volume they will do it. Increase our supply, support the Keystone pipeline, reduce our need to import and you will see a dramatic change in oil prices and speculation. This, in effect, levies a larger tax on the middle class than on the wealthy. In addition, these increases raise the cost of trucking products across the country, increasing the burden on the middle class.

Households between $50,000 to $75,000 pay, on average, a 15 percent income tax, $40,000 to $50,000 pay an average 12.5 percent and those between $20,000 and $30,000 pay approximately 5.7 percent.

An individual making $50,000 a year spent $30 a week for gasoline to commute to work ($1,500/year) when Obama took office. Today it’s $3,200/year. He was paying $2.50 for home heating oil and spending about $1,250 for 500 gallons/year. Today it’s $4/gallon or $2,000/years. $100 a week for food in 2008 has increased to $140/week, due solely to the increases in fuel prices. That’s an increase of $2,080 for food and a total increase of $4,530/year, caused by increased fuel prices alone. His after-tax income of $42,500 means the $4,530 increases in costs represents an equivalent tax increase of 10.7 percent. Further, reduce his salary by sales taxes, state income taxes, city property taxes, etc, and this increase in expenses to the middle class increases dramatically. So whom is he kidding? It doesn’t matter if these numbers are absolute. By allowing oil prices to escalate, and not taking advantage of our own supplies, he’s taxing the middle class at a greater rate than proposed for the wealthy. Think about the increases to your own bills. Do we really need this prodigal thinking for another four years?

Albert P. Roznicki

169 Hanover Road, Newtown                                         April 17, 2012