Quote Originally Posted by Jkuao
I don't exactly consider AMT payers as being rich. You can get hit by the time you have 50-100k AGI. Those who are truly wealthy still have other options. They have tax shelters and creative accountants that can make business ventures appear to bleed money.

I have an economics degree focused on public finance...but I haven't exactly sat around examining tax codes. I prefer to look at the effects of the large entitlement programs like SS and Medicaid which are in for far bigger blowups.

The rich do get hit w/ a lot of taxes and I don't propose we tax them more...just make sure they pay their fair amount. The system is already trying to be more fair than it used to be since marginal tax brackets hit 50% back in the 70's.

Those of us yet to conform to gov't directed actions like getting married, having kids or getting a mortgage are the ones who marginally get hit the hardest. I have friends that easily pay over 100k/year in taxes in NY but pretty much have to live like college students b/c of the jacked up tax code.
As far as those who are making 50-100k getting hit with the AMT, that is true, but they seem to be trying to dial that back more and more every year. All those tax shelters are still available to the lower income earners, but a vast majority do not take advantage of them.

I would agree that the Medicare and SS systems are headed for a much more dire public crisis, though. There are serious changes that need to be made before it is too late.

Strides have been made in regards to the tax brackets. The difficulty of the discussion comes when the phrase "fair share" comes into the picture. To some "fair" means an equal percentage, to others "fair" means a standard of living. All of that reminds me of when we got into a debate about how to define "is". Have you studied the Fair Tax at all? Any thoughts on that?