For a long time Steve Forbes has been advocating a flat tax. He says this is the only way to make sure the rich pay their fair share of taxes due Uncle Sam.
Now we know why Steve Forbes wants the flat tax. Wealthy individuals such as Teresa Heinz Kerry pay less in taxes, proportionately, than does the median U.S. family.
This fact was illustrated to us by a NewsMax reader, Robert Clay of California.
Mr. Clay writes:
"According to HUD, the median family income for the U.S. for 2003 was $56,500. After applying the standard deduction of $9,500 for married filing jointly we end up with a taxable income of $47,000. This puts the average family in the 15 percent tax bracket. Kerry's wife, using tax shelters, managed to pay only an effective federal tax rate of 11.5 percent, compared with the top federal income tax rate of 35 percent. She paid $587,000 on an income of $5.1M.
"If Kerry wants the rich to pay more he should start with his wife."
No wonder Mr. and Mrs. Kerry didn't want her tax records released.
I don't yet have a link to an article on this, but I'll be posting one as soon as I can find it.
Now I'm not one who believes that the rich should necessarily pay more taxes. I'm not very smart when it comes to tax codes but my opinions tend to lay in line with the Forbes flat-tax.