Your Fair Share

The June12, 2008 edition of USA Today reported that 7,389 federal tax returns with incomes of $200,00 or more reported no federal income tax liability for 2005. Guided by accountants, tax advisers and lawyers, these high income individuals have managed to avoid paying any income tax at all....that's zero as in nothing! Most of us don't have that option, and most of us (thankfully) realize that the rights, privileges and services we receive from our government benefit us and those around us. We realize that someone has to pay for this. Apparently there is a growing population of earners who either don't realize that, or don't care. Here's the rub. I have a son who last year was a graduate student at William and Mary. His income consisted of grants, loans, a graduate assistantship and some other money from odds and ends. When he did his taxes for 2007 he was forced to write a check in excess of $600 to the IRS. I don't know the total income he had, but it was a minuscule amount compared to real wage earners. It is unconscionable for a person in that position to pay more than someone earning $200,000 plus. I'm a teacher, my wife is a guidance counselor. I have never complained about our income which is far less than $200,000, but I paid several thousand in federal taxes. What is wrong with this picture? What do I advocate? I'm not saying that we should increase taxes on the wealthy, but I am saying that there should be some fairness to our tax code so every individual pays a fair amount for the operation of our government. I plan to bring the benefits of the Fair Tax plan to the pages of this blog in future articles. Until then, ponder the growing number of high income earners who are taking advantage of loopholes to avoid paying their fair share. In 2004 there were 2,833 returns with no tax liability on incomes of $200,000 or more....2005 that number grew to 7,389. I think it's a fair bet that these numbers have increased...we just don't have the reporting numbers past 2005. Author: Ed Lovell