 | Will Tell Denver, CO willtellsall.blogspot.com |
Saturday April 14, 2012 5:30PM (MST) TAGS: Obama, Tax Policy, Joe Biden, Warren Buffet |
We have heard a lot about the travesty of Buffet paying a lower tax rate than his secretary... but how representative of the FACTS is this statement? Obama claims to represent the middle class, to look out for the little guy, and the rich are not paying their fair share. Their fair share... Warren Buffet is perfectly happy touting Obama's "game plan" as he declares (paraphrasing), "It's not fair, I should have to pay a higher tax rate than my secretary."
Buffet can pay more in taxes so I don't understand that part of his statement. If he feels that he should pay more in taxes the government will definitely not turn down his money. I was under the impression that Buffet had the tax resources and representation to understand that he is not forced to take all of the deductions he utilizes. His "tax team" carefully prepared his taxes and arrived right at the rate Buffet pays [with Buffet's full knowledge I'm guessing]. To put it simply, Buffet acknowledges that he should pay more taxes to be "fair"; but the only way he will act fairly is if the government forces him to? I would guess his business practices are the same.
Does he have the moral compass not to screw clients or the competition without government intervention? Apparently his compass is broken because Buffet, the man who says he doesn't pay enough in taxes, is currently [RIGHT NOW] engaged in a lawsuit with the IRS over being charged "too much" in taxes. According to the Wall St. Journal, "NetJets, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., this week sued the Internal Revenue Service over what it called an "illegal" $643 million tax assessment" (Click For Source).
In regards to Buffet's dedication to paying his fair share one should look at Berkshire Hathaway as well. In August of 2011 the Huffington Post revealed some contradictory facts about Buffet's company;
Berkshire Hathaway, the eighth-largest public company in the world according to Forbes, openly admits to still owing taxes for years 2002 through 2004 and 2005 through 2009, according to the New York Post. The company says it expects to "resolve all adjustments proposed by the US Internal Revenue Service" within the next year. (Click For Source)
The truth about this contrived "secretary controversy" is in the capital gains tax. There has been a bipartisan effort to attack capital gains for a very long time. The two sides of the isle agree on one thing... they want American investors to keep less of their money. Unlike the "little guy" who Obama claims to be "looking out for", Mr. Buffet makes a significant amount of money from investments which are subject to a much lower tax bracket. If all or most of the income Buffet claimed in 2011 was from his "paychecks" -as was the case with his secretary- Buffet's income would be taxed at 40%. His secretary did NOT make a majority of her income from investments and was therefore taxed at a higher rate than 15%. The administration and Buffet are purposefully spinning the facts to confuse people who don't understand investing as well as Mr. Buffet. They don't realize Obama is really saying "tax investments [which have laready been taxed for the most part] at more than 15%".
The talk of Buffet's secretary is all spin but don't take my word for it, according to the New York Post via the Huffington Post;
The [New York] Post contends that since the majority of his [Buffets] income comes from dividends and capital games -- taxed indirectly through the corporate income tax -- "his effective rate would really be well north of 40 percent for a big chunk of his income" (Click for Source). |  (Click for Photo Source) |
#1. Buffet stands on a public platform and said he doesn't pay enough in taxes; behind the scenes he is suing the IRS for... yes, charging him too much in taxes.
#2. Obama's "expert" on what Americans should pay in taxes, Warren Buffet, is head of the eighth largest corporation in the world. A corporation which has not paid taxes (otherwise known as delinquent on taxes) in nearly a decade. But Berkshire Hathaway is planning on getting everything straightened out NOW that the company is in the public spotlight.
#3. The whole premise behind the Warren Buffet/secretary "pitch" from the Obama administration in recent months is based on misleading information. Information that many of the "little guys" Obama claims to represent have little or no understanding of because they are not investors. The entire presentation is meant to spur class warfare and yes... it is absolutely socialist. A page out of the Communist Manifesto if I have ever seen it. THE WORKERS MUST RISE.
Does that sum it up? Buffet is the man Obama has chosen to help tout his tax policy... A hypocrite who is misrepresenting facts to advance an agenda and spur class warfare... Buffet is not the only hypocrite in the midst of Obama either. Actually, one need not even travel outside of the president's inner circle to find interesting and hypocritical behavior... the Vice President Joe Biden fits the bill nicely.
Upper income levels are filled with all types of people. There are those who are incredibly selfless and give to charity relentlessly; there is also the type of upper income earner who gives "just enough" to keep up appearances. For example, according to the Weekly Standard in 2011 the Obama's gave 22% of their adjusted gross income to charity whereas the vice president Joe Biden and his wife gave a less than 1.5% (Click for Source). One would think in an election year Biden would be particularly sensitive to issues like charity but it shows the arrogance of the Obama administration. It doesn't stop there with Biden either... actually he is quite enterprising. According to the WhiteHouseDossier.com;
 | Most high-profile people in need of protection pay people to keep them safe. Government officials are allowed to have taxpayers pick up the tab. Biden is unique in that he actually gets paid by his bodyguards for the right to protect him. ---(Click for Photo Source) |
If I understood the White House Dossier correctly then the man who is telling all of America to put "more skin in the game" in making money off his CIA protection detail [unprecedented behavior]. The security detail is paid for by the tax payer as well as Biden's salary, sick pay, and any other career related expense the career politician incurs during his drain on society. But Biden needs rent if they are going to stay on his property in an otherwise vacant "cottage"? Seems fair to me... The American people on the other hand should be incredulous, the media should be up in arms, but do we hear any of this??? No. There are a few voices out there on talk radio and such but for the most part the truth is no longer relevant to the American media. Lies and abuse of privilege means nothing to this crew of thugs as Obama has shown himself.
His latest "pitch" to the public is that he "needs" to be subject to the proposed "Buffet Rule". According to Obama's own statement the government allows him hundreds of thousands of dollars that he does not need. First of all, if one has hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in disposable income they want to throw away... they do not have to take all of their tax deductions. Nobody is holding a gun to any tax filer's head and forcing them to take deductions... not as far as I know. Now that I'm no longer confused about how deductions "work"... sigh, I would like to address another issue critical to the hundreds of thousands of dollars Obama makes and doesn't need. Most people cannot afford to give 22% of their adjusted gross income to charity and then still brag about hundreds of thousands of unneeded dollars laying about.
Most American's who earn $800,000+ per annum like Obama are not Community Organizers, senators, or the president of the United States for a living. With that said many Americans in the $800,00 per annum income range are small business owners with very high overhead. I know that Obama cannot fathom how a small business owner can make nearly $1 million dollars in a year yet still barely scrape along... but it happens every day all across this great nation. Obama fails to see this because he was never a small business owner or responsible for a any businesses' profit and loss statement as a "Community Organizer", which is what? An organizer of malcontents? It's easy to find dissatisfaction in a free society.
There are always those who want something for free and those who will say anything for a vote but the point is Obama does not have the fundamentals for business, tax regulation, or many of the other priorities he hires advisers for. To be in the Obama administration one must be a radical as illustrated with Van Jones and that means those creating tax policy for the president are very radical people with radical views of how the economy works. Views that are easy to convinve the president of. We saw that as Obama made his case for a second stimulus [since the first stimulus and TARP created so many jobs for all of us]. Now Obama's latest misleading statement is about the "Buffet Rule".
Our president feels he "should" be subject to the proposed "Buffet Rule" because he makes hundreds of thousands of dollars he doesn't need? We have all heard him say this multiple times yet the truth of the matter is he would not fall under the "Buffet Rule's" regulation because his annual income is $100,000+ too little. He knows this, anyone who takes the time to look at his tax records [which he made public] will see that he does not qualify for the proposed legislation, but his speeches continue to tout how the Obama's should fall under the "Buffet Rule" to pay THEIR fair share. He is counting on the voter to not do their homework and calling the average American stupid. Speaking of Buffet, president Obama has something else in common with the billionaire. Obama was also taxed at a lower rate than his secretary but I haven't heard him bragging about that tiny fact. According to the L.A. Times on April 13th;
As President Obama mounts an aggressive campaign on what he calls tax fairness, his own tax burden has fallen to the lowest of his time in the White House, lower than many who make far less — including his secretary. (Click for Source)
As the spin from the White House regarding Obama tax policy pours from the media it is important to look at what is really happening and question everything that is said... and not said. Over the last few weeks Obama has repeated that Buffet pays more than his secretary but the truth of the matter is so does Obama. The misrepresentation of the income/capital gains facts are an example of blatant class warfare. We have heard the president tell us repeatedly that we all need to chip in, I believe I head Biden say the American people all need "skin in the game", yet the actions of all say the opposite. At least Biden "keeps it real" and didn't modify his "cheap" behavior from previous years.
NOTE: The Obama's income places them in the top 1% of income earners but I hear no grumbling from the Occupy Wall Street people against the president either... I mean Obama is the definition of who they hate right? The top 1% of American earners who keep hundreds of thousands needlessly instead of handing it over to the government?
All of the rhetoric begins to unravel when one takes the time to verify facts and not take a politicians "word" for what is happening. NOW... let's take a look at what Obama is REALLY doing to taxes in this country;
---BUSH TAX CUTS: Obama adamantly opposes the Bush Tax cuts and though the president and his wife do not qualify for the "Buffet Rule"... they will definitely fall under the Bush Tax cuts and benefit from any extension thereof.
According to the Washington TImes on December 30, 2011: The Affordable Care Act - also known as Obamacare - contains 21 new or higher taxes on the American people. Eight of the tax hikes have already gone into effect, and a year from now five more will take force.
--- In January 2013, Obamacare will impose a medical-device tax on everything from pacemakers and prosthetic limbs to hospital beds and CT scanners. [THIS HAS ALREADY COST 1,000 JOBS]
--- In 2013, Obamacare will saddle the economy with a 3.8 percent surtax on capital gains and dividend income and a 3.8 percent Medicare payroll tax on all wages and profits exceeding $200,000 per year.
--- The new Obamacare tax hikes hitting in 2013 will continue to restrict consumer-driven health care options with the imposition of a federal government cap of $2,500 on Flexible Spending Accounts. Currently, these pre-tax accounts do not have federal contribution limits, allowing individuals and families with high medical costs to plan ahead.
--- The new 2013 FSA cap [mentioned above, item #C) comes on the heels of Obamacare’s 2011 medicine-cabinet tax, which prevents millions of people from using their flex accounts and Health Savings Accounts to purchase over-the-counter medicines [in plain English Obama has taken all the money from OTC drug manufacturers and handed it right over to the people he claims to hate... big pharmaceutical companies]. Because Americans are no longer allowed to use these pre-tax accounts to buy hundreds of qualified products like pain relievers, antihistamines and cough medicine, every trip to the drugstore now costs more.
--- The fifth and final Obamacare tax taking effect in 2013 will be the “haircut” to the medical itemized deduction. Currently, those facing significant medical expense are allowed a deduction to the extent total health expenses exceed 7.5 percent of one’s adjusted gross income.Courtesy of Obamacare, the threshold will rise to 10 percent, increasing the tax burden on Americans with the highest medical bills. (Click for Source, GREAT article!)
According to USNews.com on February 15, 2011;
The Internal Revenue Service says it will need an battalion of 1,054 new auditors and staffers and new facilities at a cost to taxpayers of more than $359 million in fiscal 2012 just to watch over the initial [the INITIAL] implementation of President Obama's healthcare reforms. Among the new corps will be 81 workers assigned to make sure tanning salons pay a new 10 percent excise tax. Their cost: $11.5 million.
According to a 2011 report on Obamacare by the C.A.T.O. Institute and Michael D. Tanner, "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act imposes more than $569 billion in new or increased taxes over the first 10 years. These include;"
Tax on “Cadillac” Insurance Plans.
Payroll tax hike.
Tax on Investment Income.
Limit on Itemized Deductions.
Tax on Prescription Drugs
Tax on Medical Devices [as.
Additional Taxes on Insurers.
Tax on Tanning Beds
Continued... (Click for Source, complete 34 pg. report)
The point is Obamacare will be a huge burden on the tax payer in years to come. The real punch will come down the road when paychecks are significantly less because of additional Obamacare Taxes "kicking in" and everyone's healthcare is something less than or equal to medicare and medicaid. The two government programs [which are headed for bankruptcy] will be watered down and distributed to every American or alleged American. We have seen how hard liberals fight against agendas requiring proof of citizenship to receive welfare benefits or vote; I won't cite that statement because examples of welfare and voter fraud are rampant across the nation.
Many scoff at the idea Mr. Obama is a socialist or at least turning the United States more towards socialism than away. The fact of the matter is Obamacare was a government takeover of 17% of the United States economy. More so the 2,700 page legislation creates commerce with the intention of regulating said commerce. Every citizen is forced to participate in this market or they are "fined" [because we can't call it a tax... or that would upset people] and that is against the constitutional rights of every citizen in the United States. Several supreme court justices pointed out the unconstitutionality of the law and Obama came out with "threats", YES I said THREATS against the supreme court (Click for Source, read for yourself).
To those who scoff at the concept that Obama can be a socialist I say please look at what is going on around you. Seventeen cents of every dollar spent in the United States will now be regulated by the federal government because of Obamacare; when the supreme court hinted at the unconstitutionality of the law Obama called them an extremist court and threatened/warned the court against striking down the law. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. I can't say for sure if the agendas of Obama's are socialist because I am not in the man's head... but I know for sure his actions are not American.
-Will Tell
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