Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Tax Code and the Very Rich

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TAX CODE HITS THE RICH, BUT NOT THE VERY RICH: “While the affluent will pay more in taxes this year, that is probably not the case for the very wealthiest — those worth hundreds of millions or more. They may still be paying a lower tax rate than Warren Buffett’s secretary. Many millionaires are certainly paying at least 30% of their income in taxes, a goal President Obama set out in last year’s State of the Union address. But they’re more likely to be doctors, lawyers and people working in the financial services industry who get the bulk of their earnings in the form of paychecks. Partners in private equity firms and hedge fund managers, on the other hand, earn much of their money as a share of their funds’ earnings. And that income gets preferential tax treatment as so-called carried interest. A similar special tax treatment still holds true for Mr. Buffett as long as the bulk of his income comes from his investments and not a paycheck.”
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REMEMBER WHEN OBAMA WAS GOING TO SAVE US FROM THE EVIL BANKERS WHO WRECKED THE ECONOMY? NOW HE WANTS TO HAND OVER THE TREASURY TO ONE: WaPo: Jack Lew had major role at Citigroup when it nearly imploded. “In early 2008, he became a top executive in the Citigroup unit that housed many of the bank’s riskiest operations, including its hedge funds and private equity investments. Massive losses in that unit helped drive Citigroup into the arms of the federal government, which bailed out the bank with $45 billion in taxpayer money that year.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/jack-lew-had-major-role-at-citigroup-when-it-nearly-imploded/2013/01/10/a913431e-5b6b-11e2-9fa9-5fbdc9530eb9_story.html
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