Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : John McCain for President -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter O'Brien who wrote (472)	2/21/2000 6:12:00 PM
From: Brian P.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6579

What baloney. I can cook numbers to come out with libelous, paranoid tax scheme allegations if I want to too. So can anyone. Did that guy down at Bob Jones who is calling McCain a baby-killer (because he makes exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother) put you up to that? What a bunch of absolute baloney. You oughta be ashamed of yourself.

To: Peter O'Brien who wrote (472)	2/21/2000 6:36:00 PM
From: chalu2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6579

Peter, I don't think you would intentionally misrepresent anything, but your mathematics is a little crooked here. First, terms: the marginal tax rate does not change with allowance or disallowance of tax credits. It is what it is--the rate paid on tranches of income within a certain range. For example, if all income between 100K and $150K is taxed at 38%, that is the marginal tax rate. The overall percentage paid in taxes is affected by credits, but the marginal tax rate is generally a fixed number. Now, take your example. Even assuming a 31% overall federal tax rate for a family of 6 earning $100K (which is very high, but we'll use it to make things neat), the tax bill with a $4,000 credit is $27,000--this is of course 27%. If the credit of $4000 is completely eliminated, we have a bill now of $31,000--this is 31%, not 71%. That is a 4% difference, not a 40% difference. To say that the $7100 comes completely out of the $10,000 sliver between $100K and $110k is silly since the money is paid out of all income not just that $10,000. It also odd only to focus on a family earning $110K. Why not look at one earning $140K? Then the bill goes from $39,400 (31% minus a $4k tax credit)to 43,400. That's an overall change in the percentage paid from 28.1% to 31%, only a 2.9% difference, hardly something to get all worked up about. The McCain website says nothing about a 71% marginal tax rate--that isn't what he is proposing by a long shot, and you just have to thibk about that for a moment to realize that you are probably making a math error. By the way, the current tax code is what phases out the credits. McCain just wouldn't change what Congress has enacted--the phase out isn't an invention of McCain. Ah, statistics.