With the recent Iowa straw poll [1] and President Obama's bus tour [2], Americans are hearing a cacophony of arguments about the wobbly economy. The federal stimulus package passed in 2009 was either a deficit-busting failure full of wasteful projects or an unparalleled rescue that would have been more successful if it had only been bigger. Taxes are either stifling or the lowest they've ever been. America needs to invest in infrastructure or "infrastructure" is merely a euphemism for more government spending. So here's our guide to the most prevalent economic myths.
1. Taxes have been going up and are high compared to levels in other countries.
1. Taxes have been going up and are high compared to levels in other countries.
The first part is wrong; the second is also wrong but contains a grain of truth.
The percentage of income that Americans spend on taxes is the lowest it's been since 1958, according an analysis by USA Today. And with the exception of five years after the 1986 Tax Reform Act, the highest marginal income [3] and corporate tax rates [4] are the lowest they've been since World War II.
More
The percentage of income that Americans spend on taxes is the lowest it's been since 1958, according an analysis by USA Today. And with the exception of five years after the 1986 Tax Reform Act, the highest marginal income [3] and corporate tax rates [4] are the lowest they've been since World War II.
More
This article seems to forget about all the "New" taxes since 1958. True the total tax rate for income may be relatively low, they seem to omit all the new places where there are taxes and fees and charges that were never there before.
ReplyDelete