Are US expats also insane about politics?

[mickisue1]

Originally Posted by XDoodle******

Federal personal income tax 17% (2011 est. - 18.2%)
State & local income taxes 10.1%
(2009 - 10.6%) State taxes range from under 6% to over 12%.
Social security & Medicaid 7.65% Total rate is actually 15.3% since half is paid by the employer
Federal corporate income tax share 3% Based on corporate taxes being approximately 1/6 of personal taxes, and that they are paid by individuals in the final analysis.
Property tax 2.5%
(2007 - 2.7%) Yearly average actual costs range from under $200 in Alaska to almost $1900 in New Jersey
Fuel/gasoline tax .5% (2009 est. - .6%)
Other 5% (2009 est. - 7%) Includes estate tax, fees, licenses, inflation losses, inheritance, deficit allowance, gift, and others too numerous to mention.

Total tax percentage paid by the above average US citizen, 2005 - 54.4%
Total tax percentage paid by the above average US citizen, 2009 est. - 57.7%


As far as who is paying the federal income tax:
Tax Year 2009

Percentiles Ranked by AGI


Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid

Tier Income> % of Tax Paid
Top 1% $343,927 36.73

Top 5% $154,643 58.66

Top 10% $112,124 70.47

Top 25% $66,193 87.30

Top 50% $32,396 97.75

Bottom 50% <$32,396 2.25

There are a few errors in your assumptions. First off, a question: are you assuming that these mythic people are at a net income, or a gross income, of $250K?

That, of course, will make a great difference in all the numbers.

Social Security and Medicare are only taxed on the first $110,100 of income, so they will not be paying it on the entire $250K. Assuming gross income, and assuming that they each make exactly half that, or $125K, they will not pay SS and Medicare on a total of $39,800 of their income.

Throwing in the 3% for corporate taxes is questionable, at best, as are the "others too numerous to mention". Nevertheless, the total, even with the erroneous assumption for SS and Medicaid, and tossing in another 8% that are not validly included, comes to 45.75%. At $250K, that leaves $133,125, not $125,000.

That extra $8,125 represents the gross income for one third of a year for the average single taxpayer.

I have only one more comment, and then, truly, let's get back to talking about the best routes from the US border to one's home in MX.

When having a conversation, especially online, the words one uses are extremely important. It's clear that people on both sides of several questions, even here in this forum, have strong beliefs about those questions.

But one can have a conversation, and seek to understand, and to be understood. Using words like "regime" to discuss the current government, and "unethical form of art" to discuss journalism, does little or nothing to promote understanding.

Please be cogniscent of the words you use. They matter.

[jasavak]

Isn't this thread about how insane we are about politics ?


Another thing , when President Obama says "Lets get some chow" What does he mean? I hope Fido isn’t on the menu .

[Isla Verde]

Originally Posted by jasavak

Isn't this thread about how insane we are about politics ?


Another thing , when President Obama says "Lets get some chow" What does he mean? I hope Fido isn’t on the menu .

Very cute pun. As I'm sure you know, most words in most languages have several meanings, which is the source of many groan-worthy puns, including this one. According to my favorite online dictionary:

chow
1. n-uncount Food can be referred to as chow. (AM)
INFORMAL Help yourself to some chow.

2. n-count A chow is a kind of dog that has a thick coat and a curled tail.
Chows originally came from China.

I wonder if the source of your pun is this:

chow mein
Chow mein is a Chinese-style dish that consists of fried noodles, cooked meat, and vegetables. n-uncount
...chicken chow mein.

[tepetapan]

10 years ago in the Chicago metro area $1000 a month in taxes was not unusual.
Maybe not the norm but close enough to keep me from ever buying there again.