Megachurch pastor Rick Warren recently tweeted that half of Americans pay no taxes. He thought this was a funny point to make in the debates, that some people were not making enough sacrifices. However, as is usually the case with conservative claims, further examination renders them bunk. Fact-checkers have examined this and I will briefly summarize their findings.
It is true that 47% of Americans pay no FEDERAL income tax. However, they do pay payroll taxes, sales taxes, state income taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes. The reason for the 47% number is due to the fact that these people are either too poor to pay federal income taxes, or that they are able to claim deductions that allow them to avoid paying. So in a twist of unbelievable irony from a party that always complains about taxes being too high, they complain that taxes are not high enough on the poorest among us. That is the Republican way! Protect tax breaks for Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, but actually RAISE taxes on the least fortunate. It is beyond me how they are able to garner support from anyone except the millionaires and billionaires (which do not all support them either).
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