The Numbers Don’t Lie-The Wealthy Are Paying More Taxes
More, more, more! So many people demand that the wealthy pay more taxes. ‘They must pay their fair share,” goes the battle cry. The question is what really constitutes a fair share? Truth be told, many of the nations wealthy pay a smaller percentage of taxes than most. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t paying their fair share. Want proof? Then look no further than the number the IRS reported: in 2014, those who made more than $100,000 paid a combined 79.5 percent of all federal income taxes.
A closer look at the numbers from the IRS shows that more than 148 million Americans filed a tax return in 2014. Of those, 23.7 million showed an AGI of a $100,000 or more. That equals 16 percent of all tax returns. Almost all of those returns reported tax due for a combined total of $1.079 trillion in taxes, which amounts to 79.5 percent of all federal income taxes paid in 2014.
Yes, the top 1 percent, or 16 percent in this case, make a lot more money than most people, but even though they have found many ways to lower their effective tax rate, they still pay nearly 80 percent of all the federal income taxes collected by the IRS. Is that a fair share? That’s a question for each person to answer.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2016/05/13/americans-who-make-more-than-100000-pay-80-of-federal-income-taxes/#50015fe02f7a/
Asset Transfer Checklist
Asset Transfer Checklist Planning for the distribution of a lifetime of accumulated wealth can be complicated. The process involves drafting and regularly updating your will and making the necessary trust arrangements. It requires understanding exactly what you own and how to transfer what you own (and in what manner) to family members or other beneficiaries.…
Fashioning a Charitable Gift: Creative Ways of Giving
Fashioning a Charitable Gift: Creative Ways of Giving The idea of “planning” a gift to charity may not spring as readily to mind as investment or retirement planning. Yet there are many ways to give, and many kinds of gifts to consider, especially when your philanthropic impulse is strong. Initial steps Of course, the very…
Durable Power of Attorney: Manage with Care
Durable Power of Attorney: Manage with Care With over 35 million people age 65 and older, more and more families are grappling with the needs of their elderly parents. Care-giving arrangements may be necessary, involving some difficult choices and emotional upheaval. For children with parents of substantial means, there may be concerns that extend beyond…
Gifts to Grandchildren: Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
Gifts to Grandchildren: Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax The federal government currently imposes three distinct taxes on the transfer of wealth. The first two limit the total amount of assets that a person can pass tax free to others in life or at death. The gift tax and/or the estate tax take a substantial portion of all…