A stealth tax on wages (As election nears, Bushco scrambles to loot USA)

[cryofan]

Man, they are just looting as hard as they can before the voters toss 'em out!



With nearly $1.8 trillion in tax cuts rammed through in just three years, the Bush Administration is now addressing the more fundamental business of restructuring the tax code itself. That means not just chopping existing taxes--mainly on the affluent--but shifting the whole focus of the federal government's revenue-raising activities.

One former Administration official who may be gazing wistfully at the new agenda is Paul O'Neill, who spent much of his brief tenure as Treasury Secretary pushing for an attack on the tax code and the Social Security system rather than the series of cuts that the White House prioritized instead. This year, the Administration is finally pressing forward in the direction O'Neill had favored, with a series of initiatives that would eliminate much if not most taxation of savings and investment, and instead aim the tax collector's net squarely at workers' wages.
....

All three components of Bush's tax strategy rely on tax-advantaged private savings accounts to pay for services that formerly came from the government or employers--in this case, employee health care and retirement benefits. In all three plans, as well, individuals could pass on the assets to their heirs when they die. Taken together, these changes will allow affluent Americans to shelter hundreds of billions of dollars a year from taxation, effectively rolling back much of the progressive structure that was implemented beginning with the income tax ninety-one years ago.

How does this work? With more and more capital income--from savings and investments--shielded from taxation, that leaves generally less affluent workers to shoulder most if not all of the burden of paying for government out of their wages. "One of the goals long-term is to have the lowest taxation on capital income as possible," explains Eric Engen, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute--"not just another tax decrease across the board."

more here:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040216&s=laursen

[Soloflecks]

1. Isn't it time for a tax revolt? n/t

[IowaBiker]

2. It's the War on Work

Apparently * hates work so much, it's the only thing he wants to tax.

--Brian

[Odallas]

3. Do you think * ever paid any payroll tax?

How could a man accomplish so much without working hard? ( 2 tons of sarcasm )

[ramapo]

4. Not only that....

A significant portion of our taxes go to service the debt. In other words pay interest to those who purchase government bonds.

So YOUR MONEY is being redistributed to investors around the world.

[beyurslf]

5. This is exactly what John Edwards has been saying too.

That Bush and co are fundamentally shifting the burden of taxes to workers.