Do you understand the new tax laws

[John D Harris]

Food for thought on the new tax laws: I think this summed it up nicely: If you think the Bush tax cut plan is unfair, read this rebuttal
that appeared in the Sunday, March 4 Chicago Tribune. By the way, the
ratios are roughly accurate; 10% of the taxpayers pay about 60% of the
taxes collected, 30% pay 37%, and 60% collectively pay only 4%. Every night, 10 men met at a restaurant for dinner. At the end of
the meal, the bill would arrive; they owed $100 for the food that they
shared. Every night they lined up in the same order at the cash register to pay the bill.
The first four men paid nothing at all. The fifth, grumbling about
the unfairness of the situation, paid $1. The sixth man, feeling a
little put out, paid $3. The next three men paid $7, $12 and $18,
respectively. The last man was required to pay the remaining balance,
$59; he realized he was paying for not only his own meal but the unpaid
balance left by the first five men.
The 10 men were quite settled into their routine when the
restaurant threw them into chaos by announcing that it was cutting its
prices.
Now dinner for the 10 men would only cost $80. This clearly would not
affect the first four men; they still ate for free. The fifth man
announced he would now pay nothing either. The sixth man lowered his
contribution by 1/3, and paid only $2. The seventh man deducted $2 from
his usual payment and paid only $5. The eighth man paid $9 instead of his
usual $12. The ninth man paid $12, $6 less than before. This left the
last man with a bill of $52.
Outside of the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings,
and angry outbursts began to erupt. The sixth man yelled: "I got only $1
out of the $20 in cost reduction, and he got $7," pointing at the last
man. The fifth man joined in: "Yeah! I only saved $1 too. It is unfair that he got seven times more than me." The seventh man cried, "Why
should he get a reduction of $7 when I only got $2?"
The nine men formed an outraged mob, (this is where the Democratic
Party aggravates everyone about the unfairness) surrounding the 10th
man. The first four men followed the lead of the others: "Even though
we weren't paying anything in the first place, we didn't get any of the
$20 reduction in cost; where is our share?" The nine angry men then
carried the 10th man up to the top of a hill and lynched him. The next night, the nine remaining men met at the restaurant for dinner.
But when the bill came, there was no one to pay it.


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"the memories of a man in his old age,
are deeds of a man in his prime"

[Fljotsdale]

Even tax officials don't understand taxes. But I LOVE the illustration! Very apt!

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[This message has been edited by Fljotsdale (edited 07-03-2001).]

[Sir Taliesin]

Taxes were designed to help two groups of people. Accountants and Lawyers, or in laymens terms; Geeks and (as John D so elliquaitly called his youngest's boyfriend in another thread) Pond Scum.

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Sir Taliesin



If they take my gun can I still use my Axe?

[Gaelic]

I love that analogy. It is dead on. I shake my head everytime someone comments that the check on the way to them is "only" $300 or $600. First of all, that is a refund for what extra money was paid in the first half of the year alone. The tax rate has been cut and people will save that much or more over the rest of the year. Secondly, the guy who pays only a small amount in taxes gets back the same amount as a guy who pays a lot. Yet again the democrats are trying to ruin a good thing.



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Gaelic