In the latest issue of the Independent News (June 8, 2012) Mr. Farron Cousins has shared his viewpoint that "Paying Taxes IS Patriotic." Mr. Cousins is a local lawyer (I think) and is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine. He has also worked for the Ring of Fire radio program with hosts Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Mike Papantonio since August 2004, and is currently the producer of the program.
Needless to say I don't agree with him.
So,
according to Mr. Cousins we should all “shut up,” bend over and say, “Thank you
sir, may I have another.”
Sorry, it
just doesn’t work that way in this country, maybe somewhere like Syria, Iran,
Egypt or Russia, but not here. We have all been given the right to redress our
grievances with the government in the first amendment. It seems like there are
a number of lawyers around Pensacola that would like to limit the freedom of
speech. But that’s a topic for another day. Mr. Cousins topic was paying taxes
and patriotism and the link between the two. In my opinion Americans don’t mind
paying taxes as much as they mind their hard-earned dollars being wasted by a government
that increasingly wants to have its hand in every pie.
Mr. Cousins
begins his article by speaking toward corporate tax rates. His statement that
the effective tax rate on corporations is 12.1% is correct, if you stop there
and don’t explore the statement any further.
According to Time.com,
“Those on the left countered that
the effective corporate tax rate, or taxes paid after loopholes are factored
in, is actually much lower than 39.2%. Indeed, by one measure, corporations
only paid an effective rate of 12.1% in 2011, although that phenomenon was a product of temporary tax credits for
investment.
So are corporate taxes in America
relatively burdensome, or does big business not pay its fair share? A quick
Google search on the subject will produce such a broad and conflicting array of
statements and figures to make even the most dedicated policy wonk’s head spin.
The unfortunate truth is that tax policy is so nuanced that it’s difficult to
make clear-cut statements as to the relative onerousness of tax policy between
countries. Indeed, even the corporate tax figure used in the media to report
this story is a rough estimate. The 39.2% headline rate being reported in the
press is the federal rate of 35% plus the average corporate tax rate of the
individual states, which vary widely. Effective rates for individual
corporations will differ greatly depending on a company’s industry and home
state, among other factors.”
I’ve
emphasized the portion of the article that Mr. Cousins has neglected to
mention. It’s mentioned in the Viewpoint article that U.S. businesses aren’t
going to pack up and run off overseas. Ignoring the fact that many businesses
have found greener pastures overseas, many businesses have offices in other
countries which gives them an out when reporting income, they simply send the
profits overseas to pay a lower tax rate there.
Mr. Cousins
uses the effective tax rate when mentioning corporations, but average tax rate
when mentioning the average American citizen. There is a difference.
According
to CNN.com, “the average effective federal tax
rate for people making between $40,000 and $50,000 was 12% last year, according
to estimates from the Tax Policy Center, an independent research group.
By contrast, the rate for those
making more than $1 million was 20.1%.
The difference is even starker if you
strip out the payroll tax and look just at income tax liability. Those in the middle-income group had an effective rate of just
3.2%. Millionaires paid 18.9%. In both of those scenarios, the Tax Policy
Center counted gross income plus less obvious sources of compensation, such as
the employer share of a workers' payroll taxes.” - http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/12/pf/taxes/buffett-rule/index.htm
It is fashionable to attack Republicans and conservatives for
wanting lower taxes and less government interference. It’s also fashionable to
say that those who don’t agree with the “left” or the current administration as
being less informed. A convenient but specious argument.
It’s inflammatory to equate paying lower taxes or availing
oneself of following the rules of the tax code as being treasonous. When
looking at the definitions of treason, I think that there are those that are
possibly guilty of the third definition concerning
breach of trust or confidence, but again that’s another topic. Corporations owe
allegiance to stockholders (many of whom are regular Americans) and their employees,
not the government.
Here in Pensacola, our taxes aren’t paying for a better
education (look at the FCAT) for our children – and I don’t fault the teachers
in most cases – they’re sitting in the bank gathering interest.
While a applaud Mr. Cousins for speaking boldly on his opinion,
and am glad that he can, I can also disagree with his opinion and his statement
to “shut up.”
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