Yet another taxing situation
There’s a line in the Temptations’ classic “Ball of Confusion” to the effect that “Politicians say more taxes will solve everything.” Not much has changed in the forty years since, though Stacy McCain observes that a smaller percentage of us seems to be paying them:
In 2008, there were 48 million IRS tax returns with zero federal tax liability, so that more than a third of all Americans are getting a free ride.
Of course, FICA/Medicare aren’t mentioned on the return, unless you overpaid FICA for some reason, so that ride is perhaps a tad less free than it seems.
On the other hand, if you are one of the lucky ones, if that’s the term, it’s good form to regret it:
Uh, including me — because I’ve got six kids and blogging hasn’t yet become the lucrative gold mine of a six-figure income. But maybe if you hit the tip jar, we can get me off Uncle Sam’s tax moochers list.
Eight personal exemptions plus standard deduction (married filing jointly) would equal $40,600, so clearly McCain isn’t making it rain like Scrooge McDuck.
