Obama Deceit on Tax Rates for the Rich

Open e-mail to Rep. Neugebauer:

Randy,

How can we get this out as "news"?

Obama says that Warren Buffet's secretary is paying taxes at a higher rate than Buffet's secretary. Untrue! He's comparing apples with oranges and even then he is wrong. He is trying to promote economic class warfare to foster his Marxist program.

Let's look at the facts. Buffet is a "rich" person. His secretary is middle economic class. Buffet is "rich", because he has capital. To make money, he has to risk his capital, which means that if he makes mistakes, he can lose what he has. His secretary makes money by her efforts as a secretary. She does not risk any money she already has.

Buffet owns a corporation. If that corporation makes a profit, it would pay the corporate income tax rate of 39%. But let's say the corporate accountants find the loopholes and the corporation ends up paying only 20%. That comes out of Buffet's pocket. When Buffets files his personal income tax, he pays 15% on the money he receives from the corporation, after it has paid its' taxes. Add that to the 20% tax his corporation already paid and his total rate is 35%.

Let's say Buffet's secretary has a salary of $100,000. With various exemptions and deductions, such as mortgage interest, church, charity , other taxes, etc, his/her taxable income might be $70,000. Assume he/she is single. The tax then calculates to $13,625, which is 13.6% of his/her salary.

In summary, Buffet pays 35% on "apples" and his secretary pays 14% on "oranges". Buffet risks the money he has. His secretary does not. They both live in approximately the same life style. Buffet is only considered "rich", because he has control of assets and could change his lifestyle if he wished. He has the economic freedom to do so, but he prefers to live in a modest house and drive an old car.He also has the responsibilty of keeping his secretary employed, so that he/she can continue to collect $100,000 per year. For how many other countless individuals is he also economically responsible, in how he runs his corporation?