With tax day still looming in the rearview mirror, it appears the American taxpayer is not feeling very giving when it comes to the Uncle Sam.
A new Rasmussen Report poll finds 69 percent of Americans are not in favor of higher taxes to pay down the ballooning deficit. The new poll finds that only 18 percent of taxpayers are willing to shell out more money to the Federal Reserve in order to pay down the country’s bloated deficit.
An overwhelming number of Americans would rather see Congress curtail their
spending habits instead of reaching their sticky fingers into taxpayer pocketbooks. With many entitlement programs running in the red, either higher taxes or severe spending cuts are on the horizon.
However, Rasmussen found that most voters believe President Obama’s bipartisan debt reduction commission will recommend tax hikes rather than spending cuts. The poll also disclosed that if the panel suggests tax increases, 78 percent believe Congress will raise taxes across the board.
The results also showed that men were twice as likely to accept a tax hike compared to women.
A staggering 83 percent of Americans believe the growing size of the national deficit has more to do with an addiction to spending by Congress and the reluctance of Americans to foot the ever-increasing tab.
While 66 percent of taxpayers think they are already overtaxed, 46 percent fully expect their taxes to go up under the Obama Administration in the coming years.
The higher taxes trend will only be exacerbated as more details trickle out of the health care package. Most American’s think the President’s new health care bill will raise the deficits as a result 58 percent feel lawmakers should repeal the bill. In the long-term taxpayers indicate the recession is placing enough of a burden on their family and want the other guy to foot the bill.
Estimates from nonpartisan groups like the Urban Institute or Tax Policy Center point out that if the federal government does not curtail spending it would take taxing those making more than $200,000 per year 77 to 91 percent to bring the deficits to reasonable levels of 2 to 3 percent of GDP, but this drastic measure would not erase the country’s debt.
This last option seems highly unlikely as folks making that kind of money would simply leave the country or quit their jobs. The fact is that nearly half of Americans pay no income tax and this is already a sour point with taxpayers who just wrote their yearly Internal Revenue Service (IRS) checks.
Looking forward to next year’s tax bill one thing is certain, this year will most likely be the last respite families will see from taxes for many years to come.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10317-San-Diego-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner
Comments
Fraud will cost Medicare and Medicaid about $100 billion or more this year or over 1 trillion in less than 10 years. Senate Finance Committee rejected a proposal to require that immigrants prove their identity when signing up for federal health care programs. This is the best time to ask why and what can be done to reverse the decision. Please refer to the article in the OCTOBER 2, 2009, 1:23 P.M. ET issue of the WSJ (Wall Sreet Journal)by John Fund.
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