Obama Taxes

No one forced Mr. Obama to take all the Bush deductions, most especially given his public contempt for them.

 

Obama Family Tax Shelter

First family transfers wealth, avoids taxes

April 13, 2012 2:11 pm

President Obama and his wife, Michele, gave a total of $48,000 in tax-free gifts to their daughters, according to tax records made public on Friday.

The president and his wife separately gave each daughter a $12,000 gift under a section of the federal tax code that exempts such donations from federal taxes.

There is nothing illegal about the president’s taking advantage of this tax shelter, but it does raise eyebrows given that he has lamented the myriad tax exemptions used by the wealthy—“millionaires and billionaires” like himself—to pay less in taxes. He has yet to propose a comprehensive plan to reform the byzantine tax code.

The Obama’s tax return indicates that the gifts, likely for their daughter’s college educations, began in 2007, when the maximum exemptible amount was $24,000 per couple. The maximum exemption has since increased to $26,000 per couple.

The Obamas paid a total federal tax rate of 20.5 percent on a gross adjusted income $789,674, which would typically fall within the top federal rate of 35 percent.

According to an analysis of the president’s tax return, he may have paid a lower rate than his secretary despite making more than eight times as much money as she did.

His most recent tax proposal—the so-called “Buffett Rule”—would increase taxes on about 4,000 millionaires and raise about $4.7 billion in new revenue per year, enough to cover about 0.4 percent of the projected budget deficit in 2012. Though the rule would apparently not hit the president himself.

Supporters of the rule have acknowledged that the projected revenue from the “Buffett Rule,” which the Democratic-led Senate is expected to vote down, is “not even a meaningful small amount.”

The Obama’s untaxed gift to their daughters will leave American taxpayers to subsidize the college education of the children of the multi-millionaire Obamas.

*****************************************************

President Obama today released his 2011 federal income tax, with he and his wife reporting an adjusted gross income of $789,674. The Obamas paid $162,074 in total tax – an effective federal income tax rate of 20.5%. The Obamas also reported donating approximately 22% of their income to charity — $172,130.

President Obama has been making a big political push for the “Buffett Rule,” which would require millionaires to pay a minimum of 30% of their income in taxes. To illustrate the point, the president has pointed out that billionaire investor Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than does his secretary.

President Obama’s secretary, Anita Decker Breckenridge, makes $95,000 a year. White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage tells ABC News that Breckenridge “pays a slightly higher rate this year on her substantially lower income, which is exactly why we need to reform our tax code and ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share. ”

It should be noted that president would not be impacted by the Buffett Rule, though he would see his taxes go up if the so-called Bush tax cuts on higher income wage-earners were allowed to expire, as the president says he wants.

*************************************************

What’s more, he paid a lower rate than Vice President Biden, who made less than half what Obama did. Biden paid a 23.2 percent rate on $379,035 in income.
















obama

Tax Day Passeth

And we have learned that the president and his wife, donated a considerable amount of their income to a chairty for children of military personnel killed in action.  Nothing will ever make the life of a child who loses a parent better, but it is a good thing they have done and something more of us should do.



Obamas Paid $453,770 Taxes on $1.7 Million Income


President Obama and wife Michelle paid $453,700 in federal taxes on $1.7 million 2010 income





By TOM RAUM Associated Press
WASHINGTON April 18, 2011 (AP)


President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported income of $1.728 million for last year, much of it from the sale of the president's pre-presidency books. They paid federal taxes totaling $453,770 after receiving a $12,334 refund.

The Obamas paid their taxes at lowered Bush-era rates, even as he campaigns to end them for households with adjusted gross incomes above $250,000 — a category into which the first family clearly fits.

Joining the flocks of Americans filing their taxes near the end of the federal filing period, the Obamas made withholding and other payments to the Internal Revenue Service last year totaling $466,104. That was an overpayment, so they got their refund. The president and first lady reported donating $245,075 — about 14.2 percent of their adjusted gross income — to 36 different charities.

The largest single gift was a contribution of $131,075 to the Fisher House Foundation, a charity that offers a scholarship fund for children of soldiers who die or are disabled.

The Obamas' adjusted gross income for 2010 of $1.728 million was well below the $5.5 million they reported for the year before, both totals mostly driven by royalties from books written earlier by Obama. They included his 1995 memoir "Dreams From My Father" and his 2006 political book, "The Audacity of Hope."

The White House released the returns on the day that federal tax returns are due this year, although Obama signed his 1040 form last Tuesday. Michelle Obama signed the tax return on Wednesday.

They also released their Illinois income tax returns showing they paid $51,568 in state income taxes for last year.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, reported more modest earnings, a combined adjusted gross income of $379,178, on which they paid $86,626 in federal taxes for 2010. The Bidens' withholding and earlier payments came to just $79,446 — so they had a tax bill of $7,180 to settle.

The Obamas paid 26 percent of their adjusted gross income in federal income taxes. The Bidens paid 23 percent.

The Bidens paid $14,479 in Delaware income taxes and $3,515 in Virginia income taxes. Jill Biden is an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College. The Bidens contributed $5,360 to charities.













 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
obama admin

Tax Payers

Who exactly is it that pays the taxes and who doesn't?


With the Bush tax cuts in full swing - you know, the ones that only helped the rich..

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
taxces

Federal Income Tax:: Nearly 50% do not pay any

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax


Recession, new tax credits have nearly half of US households paying no federal income tax


Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday April 7, 2010, 5:38 pm


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it's simply somebody else's problem.

About 47 percent will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability. That's according to projections by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research organization.

Most people still are required to file returns by the April 15 deadline. The penalty for skipping it is limited to the amount of taxes owed, but it's still almost always better to file: That's the only way to get a refund of all the income taxes withheld by employers.

In recent years, credits for low- and middle-income families have grown so much that a family of four making as much as $50,000 will owe no federal income tax for 2009, as long as there are two children younger than 17, according to a separate analysis by the consulting firm Deloitte Tax.

Tax cuts enacted in the past decade have been generous to wealthy taxpayers, too, making them a target for President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. Less noticed were tax cuts for low- and middle-income families, which were expanded when Obama signed the massive economic recovery package last year.

The result is a tax system that exempts almost half the country from paying for programs that benefit everyone, including national defense, public safety, infrastructure and education. It is a system in which the top 10 percent of earners -- households making an average of $366,400 in 2006 -- paid about 73 percent of the income taxes collected by the federal government.

The bottom 40 percent, on average, make a profit from the federal income tax, meaning they get more money in tax credits than they would otherwise owe in taxes. For those people, the government sends them a payment.

"We have 50 percent of people who are getting something for nothing," said Curtis Dubay, senior tax policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.

The vast majority of people who escape federal income taxes still pay other taxes, including federal payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare, and excise taxes on gasoline, aviation, alcohol and cigarettes. Many also pay state or local taxes on sales, income and property.

That helps explain the country's aversion to taxes, said Clint Stretch, a tax policy expert Deloitte Tax. He said many people simply look at the difference between their gross pay and their take-home pay and blame the government for the disparity.

"It's not uncommon for people to think that their Social Security taxes, their 401(k) contributions, their share of employer health premiums, all of that stuff in their mind gets lumped into income taxes," Stretch said.

The federal income tax is the government's largest source of revenue, raising more than $900 billion -- or a little less than half of all government receipts -- in the budget year that ended last Sept. 30. But with deductions and credits, especially for families with children, there have long been people who don't pay it, mainly lower-income families.

The number of households that don't pay federal income taxes increased substantially in 2008, when the poor economy reduced incomes and Congress cut taxes in an attempt to help recovery.

In 2007, about 38 percent of households paid no federal income tax, a figure that jumped to 49 percent in 2008, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center.

In 2008, President George W. Bush signed a law providing most families with rebate checks of $300 to $1,200. Last year, Obama signed the economic recovery law that expanded some tax credits and created others. Most targeted low- and middle-income families.

Obama's Making Work Pay credit provides as much as $800 to couples and $400 to individuals. The expanded child tax credit provides $1,000 for each child under 17. The Earned Income Tax Credit provides up to $5,657 to low-income families with at least three children.

There are also tax credits for college expenses, buying a new home and upgrading an existing home with energy-efficient doors, windows, furnaces and other appliances. Many of the credits are refundable, meaning if the credits exceed the amount of income taxes owed, the taxpayer gets a payment from the government for the difference.

"All these things are ways the government says, if you do this, we'll reduce your tax bill by some amount," said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

The government could provide the same benefits through spending programs, with the same effect on the federal budget, Williams said. But it sounds better for politicians to say they cut taxes rather than they started a new spending program, he added.

Obama has pushed tax cuts for low- and middle-income families and tax increases for the wealthy, arguing that wealthier taxpayers fared well in the past decade, so it's time to pay up. The nation's wealthiest taxpayers did get big tax breaks under Bush, with the top marginal tax rate reduced from 39.6 percent to 35 percent, and the second-highest rate reduced from 36 percent to 33 percent.

But income tax rates were lowered at every income level. The changes made it relatively easy for families of four making $50,000 to eliminate their income tax liability.

Here's how they did it, according to Deloitte Tax:

The family was entitled to a standard deduction of $11,400 and four personal exemptions of $3,650 apiece, leaving a taxable income of $24,000. The federal income tax on $24,000 is $2,769.

With two children younger than 17, the family qualified for two $1,000 child tax credits. Its Making Work Pay credit was $800 because the parents were married filing jointly.

The $2,800 in credits exceeds the $2,769 in taxes, so the family makes a $31 profit from the federal income tax. That ought to take the sting out of April 15.



Internal Revenue Service: http://www.irs.gov
Tax Policy Center: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
taxes

Tax the Clunkers: Courtesy of Barack Obama

New ways to tax. Are liberals all so bloody foolish.

Take the 18 mpg cars off the road! Great. Reduce pollution, remove unsafe vehicles, increase gas mileage ... benefits all around.

But what is the benefit for me, who would use this program - I take a car worth $3000 or 3500 and turn it in and MAYBE get $4000 toward a new 28 mpg vehicle. Better for the environment, safer vehicles on the road, reduced oil consumption - more energy independent.

I saw a recent statistic that Americans use of gas dropped 4% in the last few weeks, and further, it had dropped 15% from its high. Aren't we making that change toward greater energy independence? More vehicles that get 25-40 mpg will give us even greater energy independence.

So i trade my vehicle in, it is mine, all mine, and worth $3500. I get $4000 credit toward a new vehicle - presumably one that will cost anywhere from $18,000 to $25,000.

And now ... the credit given to me for MY CAR that I turned over to help the environment and benefit me by giving me a new more energy friendly vehicle - NOW, that credit will be taxed, courtesy of Mr. Obama

UPDATE: Now it has gone caput, clunk, and capowee ... all gone. They shut it down.




CASH FOR CLUNKERS CHAOS

Clunker rebates count as taxable gross income, IRS bulletin says


Donna Harris
Automotive News
July 31, 2009

It turns out dealers will have to pay taxes on the thousands of dollars in rebates they receive under the federal cash-for-clunkers program, according to an IRS advisory bulletin issued today.

The cash-for-clunkers measure, known as the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009, exempts consumers who take advantage of the program from paying taxes on the rebate.

But it does not exempt car dealers."Gross income generally means all income from whatever source derived unless specifically excluded by law," wrote Terri Harris, who heads an IRS division specializing in automotive issues. "Gross income derived from a business means the total sales, less the cost of goods sold.

"It likely will be treated like a cash downpayment from the consumer. A NHTSA official assured car dealers listening in on a National Automobile Dealers Association webinar Monday that they would not be taxed on the rebates.

"What you are dealing with are people who don't understand accounting," explains Dick Heider, a Denver-based dealer accountant. "This is a normal payment like in any car deal whether the money comes from the bank, the manufacturer or the government."

Asked why dealers might have been confused about their tax obligations, Heider said they may have thought that because consumers didn't have to pay taxes on the rebate, they also would be exempt.

Says Heider: "It's still money in their pocket."











Obama

Obama: Smoke and Mirrors - Give me the money back!

INSIDE WASHINGTON: Taxpayers to get rude surprise
INSIDE WASHINGTON: Millions of couples, retirees may have to repay some of Obama tax credit
Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer
On Thursday April 30, 2009, 6:55 pm EDT


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Millions of Americans enjoying their small windfall from President Barack Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax credit are in for an unpleasant surprise next spring.
The government is going to want some of that money back.

The tax credit is supposed to provide up to $400 to individuals and $800 to married couples as part of the massive economic recovery package enacted in February. Most workers started receiving the credit through small increases in their paychecks in the past month.

But new tax withholding tables issued by the IRS could cause millions of taxpayers to get hundreds of dollars more than they are entitled to under the credit, money that will have to be repaid at tax time.

At-risk taxpayers include a broad swath of the public: married couples in which both spouses work; workers with more than one job; retirees who have federal income taxes withheld from their pension payments and Social Security recipients with jobs that provide taxable income.

The Internal Revenue Service acknowledges problems with the withholding tables but has done little to warn average taxpayers.

"They need to get the Goodyear blimp out there on this," said Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president of taxation for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

For many, the new tax tables will simply mean smaller-than-expected tax refunds next year, IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said. The average refund was nearly $2,700 this year.

But taxpayers who calculate their withholding so they get only small refunds could face an unwelcome tax bill next April, said Jackie Perlman, an analyst with the Tax Institute at H&R Block.

"They are going to get a surprise," she said.

Perlman's advice: check your federal withholding to make sure sufficient taxes are being taken out of your pay. If you are married and both spouses work, you might consider having taxes withheld at the higher rate for single filers. If you have multiple jobs, you might consider having extra taxes withheld by one of your employers. You can make that request with a Form W-4.

The IRS has a calculator on its Web site to help taxpayers figure withholding. So do many private tax preparers.

Obama has touted the tax credit as one of the big achievements of his first 100 days in office, boasting that 95 percent of working families will qualify in 2009 and 2010.

The credit pays workers 6.2 percent of their earned income, up to a maximum of $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples who file jointly. Individuals making more $95,000 and couples making more than $190,000 are ineligible.

The tax credit was designed to help boost the economy by getting more money to consumers in their regular paychecks. Employers were required to start using the new withholding tables by April 1.

The tables, however, don't take into account several common categories of taxpayers, experts said.

For example:

--A single worker with two jobs making $20,000 a year at each job will get a $400 boost in take-home pay at each of them, for a total of $800. That worker, however, is eligible for a maximum credit of $400, so the remaining $400 will have to be paid back at tax time -- either through a smaller refund or a payment to the IRS.

The IRS recognized there could be a similar problem for married couples if both spouses work, so it adjusted the withholding tables. The fix, however, was imperfect.

-- A married couple with a combined income of $50,000 is eligible for an $800 credit. However, if both spouses work and make more than $13,000, the new withholding tables give them each a $600 boost -- for a total of $1,200.

There were 33 million married couples in 2008 in which both spouses worked. That's 55 percent of all married couples, according to the Census Bureau.

-- A single college student with a part-time job making $10,000 would get a $400 boost in pay. However, if that student is claimed as a dependent on a parent's tax return, she doesn't qualify for the credit and would have to repay it when she files next year.

Some retirees face even bigger headaches.

The Social Security Administration is sending out $250 payments to more than 50 million retirees in May as part of the economic stimulus package. The payments will go to people who receive Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, railroad retirement benefits or veteran's disability benefits.

The payments are meant to provide a boost for people who don't qualify for the tax credit.

However, they will go to retirees even if they have earned income and receive the credit. Those retirees will have the $250 payment deducted from their tax credit -- but not until they file their tax returns next year, long after the money may have been spent.

Retirees who have federal income taxes withheld from pension benefits also are getting an income boost as a result of the new withholding tables. However, pension benefits are not earned income, so they don't qualify for the tax credit. That money will have to paid back next year when tax returns are filed.

More than 20 million retirees and survivors receive payments from defined benefit pension plans, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. However, it is unclear how many have federal taxes withheld from their payments.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union raised concerns about the effect of the tax credit on pension payments in a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in March.

Geithner responded that Treasury and IRS understood the concerns and were "exploring ways to mitigate that effect."

Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan, the top Republican on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said Geithner has yet to respond to concerns raised by committee members.

"So far we've got the, 'If we don't address this maybe it will go away' approach," Camp said.


IRS withholding calculator:
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id96196,00.html








taxes

Income and Weath

The Democrats have been chomping at the bit over Cindy McCain's tax returns. She has stated she will never ever ever release the records. She just did.

We have also learned that under a prenuptial agreement, everything is separate with the McCain's, unlike the Obama's and Clinton's where it is share and share alike. Ms Clinton just loaned herself another $6 million.

We now know how much Cindy McCain made in 2006 - total income of more than $6 million. She paid more than $1.7 million in taxes.

Together she and John McCain made less than Hillary loaned herself in the last six months.

McCain's Taxes

Juxtaposed against people who make $10 million over several years or some who make a few million in one year, McCain's income barely scrapes the bottom in 2006 and 2007:

Senate Salary in 2006: $161,675
Senate Salary in 2007: $161,708
Book Royalty Income in 2006: $80,390
Book Royalty Income in 2007: $176,508
Social Security Income in 2006: $22,104
Social Security Income in 2007: $23,157
US Navy Pension in 2006: $56,496
US Navy Pension in 2007: $58,358


Of course, some will say that his wife has yet to release her income, or has refused. My one question to you would be - did it bother you that Theresa Heinz Kerry was worth over $800 million in 2004 or that together, Theresa and John are worth close to a billion?

$109 MILLION Dollars

In the years since 2000, the Clinton's have made (think Dr. Evil) over $100 million dollars.

$100 MILLION.

That's a 1 with lots of zeros.

And for those wondering about Obama ... much much much much much much less.
And for those wondering about Bush .... way way way way less.
And for those wondering about Cheney - so much less than less than less.

Add Obama and Bush and Cheney up and you get a Clinton. oh wait, some would say, Bush and Cheney hide it ... yeah well, whatever Bush and Cheney hide doesn't equal the millions funneled to Hillary's campaign via foreign sources to Bill (all legitimately of course), THIS year (and that 100 million doesn't count this year) and more than 10 million will be found to be unaccounted for.

It has been the mantra of the left for some time that Bush is super wealthy - not true.
It has been the mantra of the left for some time that Cheney is super wealthy - not true.

Another measure - as I pointed out in an earlier post - who donates how much and to whom/what. I stated that Blue states were not as free with their donations (but generally did approve of higher taxes), while Red states donated more. Apparently, in 2006, a majority of all donations the Clintons made was to their foundation. That's one way to keep it in the family.


I think 100 million in 6 years qualifies as super wealthy.

Given that when Bill became president, they owned no home, no wealth, no nothing as Governor but that which Hillary had made prior to her time in office. Suddenly, 100 million dollars richer AFTER he is president. 5600% Clintons' wealth skyrockets by 5,600 percent. Posted on Friday, April 04, 2008 7:44 PM PT
By Andrea Mitchell and the NBC News Investigative Unit

Poverty? What the heck do they know about poverty. Only 14500 people in the bracket they are in!
In what proved to be an awkward juxtaposition, the disclosure of the records — which revealed the Clintons to be in the top one-hundredth of 1 percent, or roughly 14,500, of all taxpayers — came on the day that Mrs. Clinton called for the creation of a cabinet-level post to tackle poverty. NY Times.

Speaking to a statewide convention of North Dakota Democrats in Grand Forks on Friday, Mrs. Clinton criticized the Bush administration’s tax cuts, which she said favored the rich, then referred to the tax data she and her husband released earlier in the day.

“Now don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against rich people,” she said. “

As a matter of fact, my husband, much to my surprise and his, has made a lot of money since he left the White House, by doing what he loves doing most — talking to people. But we didn’t ask for George Bush’s tax cuts. We didn’t want them, and we didn’t need them.”

[NOTE: If you didn't want them, give it back. Ms. Clinton, the tax breaks didn't make you rich and didn't let you keep it all. Bill's suggestion in his book opn GIVING that peopel donate 5% ... a little less than most people already do - the average middle class person donates more than 5% Bill. It is only your wealthy friends who seem to have a hard time parting with money.]


No wonder people want to be president ... $100 million in six years. You can't make that unless you play in the NBA.