More Proof the Wealthy Are Paying More Taxes

Depending on whom you ask, the wealthiest Americans either don’t pay enough in taxes and should be forced to pay more, or they pay way too much already and should be given a break. As with most cases, there are three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the truth.

According to the Tax Foundation, there is a lot of evidence that the wealthy are indeed already paying a lot more in taxes. According to the Tax Foundation, 2013 was a big year for tax hikes aimed at the wealthy. Not only was a new 39.6 percent tax bracket created but also the top rate on capital gains was raised to 20 percent. It didn’t stop there, either. The Affordable Care Act’s new 3.8 percent Net Investment Income Tax also went into affect.

So just how big of an impact have all these changes had on high-income earners in the country. For starters, those with yearly incomes of more than $500,000 saw their effective income tax rates soar from one year to the next. Those making between $1 and $2 million jumped from 24.2 percent to 28.6 percent from 2013 to 2014.

Meanwhile, for those who made more than $10 million experienced a jump from 19.8 percent to 26.1 percent. That equals a tax hike of more than 1.5 million. The numbers don’t lie and these numbers show that high-income earners have definitely experienced an increase in taxes recently. If you want to keep your taxes down, then contact GROCO to find out how. Click here or call us at 1-877-CPA-2006.

Posted in

The Basics of Asset Allocation

The Basics of Asset Allocation The Two Biggest Investment Mistakes: 1. Failure to diversify. Don’t bet everything on one stock. Don’t put all your money into either stocks or bonds. 2. Failure to cope with inflation risk. Today you need over $2 to buy what $1 bought in 1980, over $4 to buy what $1 bought in…

Stock Basis Reporting on Form 1099-B in 2011

Stock Basis Reporting on Form 1099-B in 2011 By Ron Cohen, CPA, MST Partner Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co., LLP See the new Form 1099-B for 2011 that requires “cost basis” information. Form 1099-B 2011 In the past, the client’s sometimes don’t know or can’t find their cost basis in stocks they have sold. Major…

Bond Risks and How Bond Funds Deal With Them

Bond Risks and How Bond Funds Deal With Them A bond is a promise. In return for the money lent to a corporate or governmental borrower, the borrower pledges to make periodic payments of interest at a fixed rate and to repay the original loan after a set period of time. Both the date at…

Meeting the Challenge of College Costs

Meeting the Challenge of College Costs Your child has entered high school and is just four years away from college. It’s time to get serious about figuring out how much it’s going to cost. Based on recent data from the College Board, if he or she goes to a private four-year university, the cost for…