Congress Stuffs Essential Tax Bill With Pork For The Wealthy
Congress Stuffs Essential Tax Bill With Pork For The Wealthy
In the coming days, Congress will likely pass a “tax extenders” bill to “renew popular expired tax breaks,” such as the “research credit, a deduction for tuition and other college expenses, and a deduction for teachers who spend money out of their own pocket for classroom supplies.”
But Congress has decided to use the bill for partisan purposes. In closed-door negotiations, Congress “added a tax break benefiting high-income taxpayers that was never passed by either the full House or Senate.” The measure would increase the amount that individuals could contribute to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), “thereby allowing those who could make these additional contributions to shelter even more of their income from taxation.” A look at these HSAs:
– HSAs are disproportionately used by high-income individuals. The Government Accountability Office found “that the average income of HSA users was $133,000 in 2004, compared to $51,000 for all non-elderly tax filers.”
– The higher the participants’ incomes, the larger their tax-deductible HSA contributions. According to a GAO study, the “average HSA contribution made by participants with incomes exceeding $200,000 was more than double the average contribution made by participants with incomes below $50,000.”
– Many HSA participants are use their accounts as tax shelters. In 2004, the “majority of people with HSAs withdrew no funds from the accounts…and HSA participants in the focus groups that the GAO convened spoke of using their HSAs for tax sheltering purposes.”
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48 Responses to “Congress Stuffs Essential Tax Bill With Pork For The Wealthy”
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We should go to the Fair Tax.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:04 pmI can tell you from personal experience, this is a great tax shelter, and gives me absolutely NO incentive to change how I think about what medical care I should receive.
Probably one of the most disingenuous "fixes" for our ailing medical care system that Ive seen yet.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:08 pmOne last f-you by the Repubs to the people they are representing. KInd of reminds me of Courtney Love leaving the Grammies.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:13 pmRemember what income taxes are actually for?
December 8th, 2006 at 4:15 pmCould it be disproportionally used because the lower income groups don't know about or don't understand the benefits of tax sheltering? I agree with Geoff in that this does nothing to change how I think about what medical care I should receive. That money is locked up and can only be used for out of pocket medical expenses, so it's not like this is a supplemental retirement program or anything.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:17 pmRemember the original purpose of the income tax and the IRS!
December 8th, 2006 at 4:17 pmCould it be disproportionally used because the lower income groups don’t know about or don’t understand the benefits of tax sheltering?
Comment by Mikey
I would think that the reason lower income grooups don't use it is because they don'thave the extra money to invest. It's tax breaks like this that allow higher income makers to invest their money tax free and reap the benefits while many are left out. It disproportionately aides the wealthy. therefore widens the gap between rich and poor. As a practice in a "equal opportunity" society I think it is shameful.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:24 pmIn the last days the Republicans have no time to look at whats important to our country, so they leave their mess for the new Democratic congress next year. But of course, there is always plenty of time for them to do stuff like this, behind closed doors and usually without even getting congressional approval.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:25 pmTalk about shameless.
I believe the Congress has gone insane, but they do not realize yet that average Americans are NOT going to tolerate this kind of crap any longer!
December 8th, 2006 at 4:25 pmCongress Stuffs Essential Tax Bill With Pork For The Wealthy
That are un-possible.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:25 pm"and a deduction for teachers who spend money out of their own pocket for classroom supplies"
To hell with tax deductions. THAT money should be replaced.
Anyway, I don't even care if they keep income tax, but if I'm paying 25% of my income and a millionare is paying 10%, something is wrong. How about we eliminate ALL deductions? The government will get more money and they can afford to lower the overall income tax rate so that more of us worker bees can keep a little extra for a rainy day, or maybe get out of that debt they've been encouraging us to keep.
Anything is better than the hopeless chaos of tax laws we have now.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:29 pm#7 "I would think that the reason lower income grooups don’t use it is because they don’thave the extra money to invest"
That's true on the surface, but if you put income in a tax sheltered account, whether HSA or 401K, etc., it reduces your taxable income and a lot of times reduces your tax bracket (rate). You could actually have more net pay (money to use to buy groceries, electricity, etc.) by contributing to a tax sheltered account. This is a little realized fact.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:32 pmHouse ethics committee findings = GOP was negligent. Ooops.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:35 pmSorry wrong thread. Carry on.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:36 pmcheck out the fair tax.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:38 pmSo all we common folk have to do is Play Monopoly and it will "feel" just like being rich.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:39 pmYou could actually have more net pay (money to use to buy groceries, electricity, etc.) by contributing to a tax sheltered account. This is a little realized fact.
Comment by Mikey
Of course that could happen. But it depends on where you sit in the tax bracket from the beginning. "Could" is the operative word. Anyway the discussion was not on 401Ks.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:43 pmKevin, this thread is not about income tax, but since you brought it up, why not get rid of it all together? Here's a proposal that will do just that, but it's by that mean ol' Mr. Gore who wants to clean up the environment. Want to put your money where your mouth is?
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/18/gore-speech/
December 8th, 2006 at 4:43 pmSo all we common folk have to do is Play Monopoly and it will “feel†just like being rich.
Comment by ForTruth
The rich have people to play Monopoly for them.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:45 pm*eyes rolling*
A general question.. if one puts aside say $1000 in HSA then that amount has to be ONLY used for out of pocket expenses for health services, right? Is this correct? What happens if that person ends up spending $700 out of $1000?
December 8th, 2006 at 4:46 pmThe rich have people to play Monopoly for them.
*eyes rolling*
Comment by Zooey
I wish I did, that game gets pretty tedious after about 2 hours.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:58 pmYou want an easy tax system that gets everyone. The fair tax does that. You want to get rid of tax shelters, the fair tax does that. B(un)truthful thinks it’s an unfair burden on the middle class. Even if that were true, you folks say that’s how it is anyway. Just remember, Rich people spend money. (a lot of it) The Mob spends money. Everyone spends money. If you can take home your whole check, don’t you think you could save more money. I know I would.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:59 pmWhat? I would've thought that Kevin would've been all over Al Gore's proposal to eliminate the payroll tax. I guess Kevin's goal isn't to make things for the middle class but to just make sure his rich masters get every penny they can steal.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:11 pmIt's our good freind Angie, who likes to take dumps on all the threads.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:20 pmUnlike b(un)truthful I can think for myself. I bet he gets his orders from his high school civics teacher. What did he tell you today?
December 8th, 2006 at 5:31 pmKevin still seems to prefer being taxed to not having to pay a tax.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:36 pmI will be making a phone call to the State Dept.
I will have my nephew pull some strings and monitor this site.
Oh shit,did I say that? He just told me on the phone it already IS
being monitored. he tells me satellites put posters names with
posters locations………..then he could not reveal anymore to me.
He said he would lose his clearance with a very very long prison
sentence to follow.He told me this site has been monitored for a very
long time though.
Everywhere you look.Commies,commies,commies.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:43 pmWow. I support sales that (that I would also pay) so I'm a racist. Maybe you should stop using drugs.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:47 pmAngie,
Tell your nephew he can go blow it out his ass too.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:49 pmSpeaking of pork............I may be a sweet,petite southern belle but
I have a confession to make.
I love eating pork rinds while I am throwing WADS and WADS of cash
all over my petite little body.
Funny how the smell of money makes my nipples hard.
Back to work you fools!!
My coffers are not full yet.
Did I mention I made $7,000,000 .........and still counting because of
our President?
And he has 2 whole years LEFT!!!
Bwahahahahaaa!!!
Back to work you govt. mules.
Believe me when I say,slavery is ALIVE and well in the USA.
God I love this country.
you=mac and cheese and no social graces.
me= caviar and occasional pork rinds.
it is nice to be me.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:49 pmJames Kim did everything he could to save his wife and children. When his efforts to attract outside help failed, he set out to find it. he gave his life for that effort.
December 8th, 2006 at 6:39 pmObviously, angie/angelina from GA share a kindred soul with the great W. Kim Jong Il is closer to Heaven than either of this pair.
#42
Is this satire or are you just nuts?....
December 8th, 2006 at 6:59 pmIt's kind of sad when a Bush cultist reaches the breaking point and loses her mind.
December 8th, 2006 at 7:15 pmIf this is such a f-you by all the Repubs, then I expect all the Cems to vote against it.
December 8th, 2006 at 7:23 pmRobert, I wouldn't expect Dems to be in lock-step about many things. They're not republicans, you know.
December 8th, 2006 at 7:29 pmHey all,
December 8th, 2006 at 9:20 pmI am a professional in the HSA field. I am also a CAP supporter. The one great thing about HSA is the consumerism it is bringing into the market. No longer can for-profit health care corporations charge whatever they want and not tell the patient up front.
Price transparency helps all!!
Friday News Dump Items:
The FDA Appointee, Andrew von Eschenbach, was confirmed today after months of waiting due to objections about his role in targeting seniors who purchased prescription drugs from Canada with drug trafficking.
The CDC has again refused to provide reports about its post-Katrina performance to the House Energy and Commerce Committee which is charged with oversight of the CDC. Alison Young of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has been reporting about the demoralized professional staff and bright flight of senior scientists under the "reorganization" of the agency by Bush appointee director, Julie Gerberding.
December 8th, 2006 at 9:51 pmThe HSA doesn't help the poor, because the poor don't pay income taxes. So deferring money to pay for health care costs doesn't make any sense if your tax bracket is 0%.
But the HSA is really popular with the middle class.
And since the money MUST be spent on health care purchases, it's not much of a free grab bag for anyone. It just allows folks to get a tax break for medical purchases.
December 9th, 2006 at 2:46 amMillionaires Win Under Tax Bill Passed by Congress
December 9th, 2006 at 2:58 amThis is disgusting. The Rich get richer and everyone else gets screwed.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:23 amjake
income tax on labor is ILLEGAL. there is NOT a tax code or law out there anywhere that says it is law to tax wages. income tax was to tax corportations on their goods NOT labor. but the zionist/nazi pricks slid that in because the american dumbasses won't pay attention nor have they really cared for all these years. the irs is nothing but a mob to take your hard earned money and put it straight into the pockets of the folks who own the federal reserve bank. folks, income tax is paying for the federal interest rate that comes out of the federal reserve bank that determines how much each individual is going to pay for there house, cars, credits. now remember these pricks do not pay interest because they OWN the money so what does that tell ya........ the 1913 federal reserve act should be abolished immediately. IT IS ILLEGAL, THIEVERY AT IT'S WORST ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
December 9th, 2006 at 2:01 pm"Congress Stuffs Essential Tax Bill With Pork For The Wealthy" - - well I should HOPE so! Such a novel idea - - giving tax breaks to those who actually pay THE taxes......
December 9th, 2006 at 5:52 pmGOP Senator Blasts the 109th Congress
By: Nicole Belle @ 10:40 AM - PST
Boston (Globe).com :
Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire yesterday used his last major floor speech as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to blast his own party's leadership in Congress, accusing Republican leaders of engaging in the type of fiscal recklessness that he said led voters to oust the GOP from power.
Gregg, who will give up the Budget Committee gavel when his party relinquishes control of Congress in January, issued his unusually harsh critique in reference to a sweeping tax-cut bill that Republicans were rushing through in the final hours of the congressional session.
December 9th, 2006 at 8:40 pm...
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/12/09/gop-senator-blasts-the-109th-congress/
.
re: #56 Republicans giving tax breaks to those that don't pay taxes
“Congress Stuffs Essential Tax Bill With Pork For The Wealthy†- - well I should HOPE so! Such a novel idea - - giving tax breaks to those who actually pay THE taxes……
Comment by mighty aphrodite — December 9, 2006 @ 5:52 pm
Thats just it, the wealthy don't pay taxes. They get all the tax breaks, then take their money, set up shop overseas, pay labor 50 cents an hour and layoff American workers.
"The average tax cut for the richest 1 percent over the next four years will total $103,899, while the average tax cut for the bottom 60 percent of taxpayers will total $385 over the next four years, according to Citizens for Tax Justice. Low-income taxpayers—the bottom 20 percent—will receive a $15 tax cut the first year, a sum that will decrease to $1 by the fourth year of the tax scheme. Overall, the House-passed version scales back sharply the already modest middle-income tax cuts included in earlier bills by phasing out those provisions in two years."
"Two of the nation’s richest men, billionaire investors Warren Buffett and George Soros, have spoken out against the tax cuts, saying they will not help the U.S. economy—as Bush has said in selling the tax plan. Soros said in an interview with the CNBC that the dividend tax plan was “basically using the recession to redistribute income to the wealthy.â€
December 9th, 2006 at 8:44 pmIDIOCY!
Health Savings Accounts, If not spent, normally get zeroed out at the end of the year, and you LOSE the money in them. Mine is administered by Aetna, and if the funds are not used by the end of the year, they are forfeited to the Administrating company.
December 10th, 2006 at 12:53 pmHealth Savings Accounts, If not spent, normally get zeroed out at the end of the year, and you LOSE the money in them.
Comment by Douglas G. — December 10, 2006 @ 12:53 pm
Not true. You are talking about a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), not a Health Savings Account (HSA).
The HSA earns interests that are also tax free, and the outstanding balance at the time of the death of the HSA holder is inherited by the beneficiary as any other asset would.
But don't take my word. Let the IRS tell you about FSA vs HSA.
December 11th, 2006 at 2:00 am[...] Billion-dollar expansion of Health Savings Accounts added to tax package at last minute. Link and snip from Post story below… see also ThinkProgress on HSAs. GOP Lawmakers Add Provision to Passing Tax Package - washingtonpost.com Measure Expands the Amount That Can Be Given Tax-Free to Health Savings Accounts [...]
December 11th, 2006 at 11:05 amWhat's the problem with HSA account holders not withdrawing funds in a given year? Why can't they save the money for future medical expenses?
HSAs are hardly a convenient tax shelter for the wealthy. The funds may only be used for medical expenditures. It's not as if the money is being used to buy a yacht.
January 24th, 2007 at 8:13 pm