Taxes Never Rise in the New York Times
By Conn Carroll on The New York Times
National Review Institute Blog
On January 1, 2011, every American who pays taxes is set to see their tax bill rise. The lowest personal income bracket will see their taxes rise from 10% - 15%. the 25% bracket will rise to 28%, the old 28% bracket will rise to 31%, the 33% bracket will rise to 36%, and the old 35% bracket will rise to 39.6%. But son’t look for the words “hike”, “rise”, or “raise” any where near the word “tax” in Jackie Calmes coverage of the issue for the August 10th New York Times.
Instead of informing readers about who’s taxes are set to rise and by how much, Calmes article is titled “Study Looks at Tax Cut Lapse for Rich,” and the article goes on to use the phrase “tax cut” at least ten more times. When forced to describe what President Barack Obama’s policy Calmes says taxes “would revert to the levels before the Bush administration.”
It is not until the very last paragraph, when Calmes finally describes an opposing point of view that Calmes reports: “Rather, they say Mr. Obama is about to spring a big tax increase on many small-business owners who file their taxes as individuals. Analyses from the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research organization, show that less than 3 percent of filers with small-business income pay at the top two income tax rates, and many of those are doctors and lawyers in partnerships.”
While true, this is extrmely misleading. Yes, less than 3 percent of filers with small-business income pay at the top two income tax rates. But that includes everybody who does even a single freelance job on the side. A more accurate measure would be to look at what percentage of small-business income is taxed at the top two income rates. According to data from the Treasury Department, 82 percent of all income taxes paid by small businesses is taxed at the top two income tax rates.
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