From an email I sent out today:
Dear Clients and Associates,
I have never before asked my professional contacts to take political action. I am not a member of either political party. However, there is a bill pending in Congress that would have devastating effects on small businesses like yours and mine.
Congress is about to raise our taxes. A little-noticed provision in a popular bill may double the amount of tax we have to pay, starting with the 2011 tax year. I’m writing to ask you to email, write, or call your Senators and ask them to drop this tax increase, which would hurt small businesses at a time we cannot afford it.
I’m writing to you because you have a business that would be affected by the bill, or have at some point expressed an interest in setting up a business that would be affected.
The bill, HR 4213, extends unemployment benefits as well as several popular tax breaks. However, its Section 413 raises taxes on Subchapter S corporations in certain industries. The taxes raised by this provision will be used to provide tax credits for large corporations.
As a “99er” for whom 4213’s extended benefits to “the unemployed” will have no effect, I’ve little or no dog in this race, and have been to the point for several weeks now of wanting to see it shot down if only to deny the repeal of the estate tax expiration. That’s what gonna’ happen, The International Banking/Insurance/Oil/Drug Conspiracy will “trade” six hundred billion dollars in tax cuts for the fat for a thirty billion dollar bone to toss the rubes, a bone that does nothing for those such as I and thoroughly fucks virtually every small, “family” business – the “S” Corps” – in the country. Hell yeah, shoot it down.
Housekeeping note – it’s a good thing I stole Abby Hoffman’s book, so many years ago.
Double the taxes you pay??????????????? the most exaggerated bullsh*t statement I have read all month. They are only raising taxes to where they were before reagen bought off americans with low taxes. Something our economy has been feeling ever since. Even during the boom of the 90s when everyone was getting rich, the government was struggling to pay their bills because of Reaganomics. Conservatives are too hard headed to learn from their own mistakes. Its a shame really. Look at every other successful nation in the world and look at how much taxes they pay. Get over yourself and look at the real issues plaguing our society. Go cry me a f*cking river!!!!!!
Look again. This is a tax increase on low-income small businesses, not the rich people you seem to think you’re talking about. Under this bill, FICA taxes paid by a business earning $20,000 can jump from $1,500 to $3,000, reducing disposable income from $18,500 to $17,000. I don’t know what you would say when facing a tax increase like that, but I say “Ouch!” With this recession, we’re just getting by already, and a tax increase like that hurts!
Meanwhile, on my blog early next week I’ll show how a fictional Dr. Rich, MD– the supposed target of this change– can use the existing tax laws to restructure his business to continue to avoid these taxes, and why most small service providers can’t do the same. Once again, the rich skate and the rest of us don’t even get a kiss.
I would also point out that U.S. marginal income tax rates are far higher than most of the EU. France’s top bracket is 50%. That includes health care and retirement, and there’s no provincial income tax. The top bracket in California, for example, is returning to 39.6% federal income tax + 15.3% FICA + 10.55% state income tax = 65.45%.
I don’t happen to be anywhere near that bracket– I’m on the other end of the scale in the 10% bracket, which will most likely be raised to 20% this year, doubling my income tax as well. Paying more income tax doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the regressive FICA tax, which hammers the working poor who can least afford it. But I get sick of hearing how we might have to pay as much tax as Europeans, when in fact our top rates are higher.
As to the real issues that face our society, corporatism is high on that list. So when I see a bill passed that taxes small businesses while giving juicy tax breaks to big business, I get more than a little annoyed.
Here’s my favorite tax break in HR4213: motorsports exhibition facilities. That’s right, the federal government is subsidizing NASCAR!