For the well-off, this could be the best tax day since the early 1930s: Top tax rates on ordinary income, dividends, estates, and gifts will remain at or near historically low levels for at least the next two years. That's thanks in part to legislation passed in December 2010 by the 111th Congress and signed by President Barack Obama.Have you noticed that in all the coverage about the US government shutdown, it is all about cutting back on public spending, not on increasing revenue? There are two basic sides to any budget: income and expenses. So why isn't there any discussion in the media, or Congress, about the income side--income taxes, particularly those not paid or underpaid by the rich? There has been a steady decline in the past 40 years in the rates that the rich and corporations actually pay. Hence, is it any wonder that the Federal and State budgets are out of whack?
in the time remaining, to help us understand how the man-made system of capitalism will lead to the extinction of our human species, and so many others.
Friday, April 8, 2011
How to Pay No Taxes
by Jesse Drucker from Bloomberg Businessweek.