Tax credits=Christmas in January. Not to be confused with tax refunds. I have no problem with a person/family having 0 FIT liability. What, I don't agree with is giving back more than what is paid in..that's bull. If you paid $4k, then you get $4k back, not that and then some. It's a money grab that needs to be done away with. Why, should I have to supplement someone else's tax burden? All over the country these lil tax refund shops are setup to continually exploit the system..and it needs to stop. When I do my taxes, I have my mortgage deduction and farm/ranch deductions and I still pay. Why? So some other joker can get that big refund and spend it in a week. The only exemption I would accept would be for military families, they are actually providing a service. It's time for the 'Tax Credit are Too Damn High' party.
Brotha, Leftwith, Shiner -- do you call yourselves Christians? If you don't, I have no problem with your political/social views. But if you do, how do you explain completely disagreeing with the views of Jesus Christ on almost every issue?
I didn't realize Jesus advocated for taking stuff from people against their will so that it could be given to other people... For the record, I'm a deist, not a Christian...
What Ag said. As usual with that particular Ag. But I am a Christian and won't get too vocal about it. Give to Caesar what is Caesar's.
I am absolutely a Christian and I believe that people should give to the poor as the Bible says. The problem with the government confiscating one person's income to create income for someone else is that the process is frought with graft, corruption, nad greed. I don't think government does charity very well at all. Our's has a miserable track record when you look at results. Now we have a President that wants to take a bad arrangement and make it worse, creating more leeches on society. We need a change for the people to have hope in something real.
I agree. I pay my fair share. My marginal tax% is around 20% every year even after tax credits and deductions. I am pretty sure I pay a higher tax % than Warren Buffett too. Do you need to see my tax returns to believe me?
2 Thessalonians 3 6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching[a] you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” Now that is balanced with a good deal of instruction by Jesus to give generously especially to those who cannot work but the tax credit doesn't make qualifications for this does it? Of course we can do this all day but my reponses will be limited because I am at WORK. Another good passage isparable about the talents in Matthew 25.
i enjoy the new left wing interpretation of the new testament in which they try to make jesus a socialist. it's funny.
FWIW, I helped my single mom friend do taxes again this year... Her income was around $12K... Her refund??? $6.9K
Chango, if you really believe that God is going to consider you generous and benevolent because you got taxed more, you really haven't been reading the Bible honestly.
Mitt Romney paid 42% of his income to taxes and charity in 2011. Romney donates more to charity in a year than Obama has donated in his lifetime.
Although, I'm not a bible scholar, I do consider myself to be a christian. And, I'm pretty sure that Jesus was talking about his followers, not a government entity doing his work. Unless, Chango is calling for the government to start following the bible more closely.
so, HHD, do I really need to bring out a list of how much major charities spend on overhead/admin costs? How about CEO salaries?
^If you have some figures, it would be interesting to see them. I'd expect they would be much more efficient than the USG. HHD
Special Report America's Most (And Least) Efficient Charities William P. Barrett, 11.24.04, 2:00 PM ET The list shows key efficiency ratios and, if available, the trend from the previous year. Higher is better. Charitable commitment shows how much of total expenses went for the charitable purpose, excluding management, overhead and fundraising. Average: 84%, down 1%. Fundraising efficiency indicates the share of gifts less fundraising expenses. Average: 89%, unchanged. Donor dependency calculates how much of gifts was needed to make ends meet. A number above 100% means the nonprofit needed it all; a negative number, often due to sale of goods and investment gains, not a dime. This ratio dropped to 89% from 107%. This year we also note nonprofits that failed one or more standards set by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance or didn't supply requested information.The Link
Thanks for the data - very interesting. From what I see in the data, it shows that many charities are less than totally efficient in raising and applying funds. What I don't see is comparable data for the USG. And at any rate, we're still left with the philosophical question - does the government have the role of confiscating wealth and income and redistributing? I would say it's better left to individuals to determine how to support charity. HHD
