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Defining Fair Remains Challenging When It Comes To Taxes

Jan. 11, 2013
Unfair tax burdens must drive better planning and efficiencies in business.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes fair as “marked by impartiality and honesty: free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism (a very fair person to do business with)”. It would be hard to describe the new tax policy on high-income individuals as “fair” given facts derived from the IRS. 

The top 1% income earners equates to 1.35 million people who will be paying more taxes for no other reason than they have been at least temporarily successful in monetary terms.  The 1% group earned 18.9% of the total taxable income in the US in 2010, yet they paid 37.4% of all the taxes. 

The bottom 95% (128.3 million taxpayers) earned 66.2% of all the income and paid 40.9% of the taxes.  So the top 1.0% of the taxpaying population paid almost as much as the bottom 95%. The top 5.0% paid 59.1% of all the personal income taxes. 

So it is not fair, but it is reality.  We must drive efficiencies into our businesses to generate the extra cash diminished by these new taxes, and we should be contacting tax attorneys about how best to manage the income in terms of tax management.  The new law may not be permanent, but it is indefinite, and now we need to adjust to it.

About the Author

Alan Beaulieu Blog | President

One of the country’s most informed economists, Alan Beaulieu is a principal of the ITR Economics where he serves as President. ITR predicts future economic trends with 94.7% accuracy rate and 60 years of correct calls. In his keynotes, Alan delivers clear, comprehensive action plans and tools for capitalizing on business cycle fluctuations and outperforming your competition--whether the economy is moving up, down, or in a recession.

Since 1990, he has been consulting with companies throughout the US, Europe, and Asia on how to forecast, plan, and increase their profits based on business cycle trend analysis. Alan is also the Senior Economic Advisor to NAW, Contributing Editor for INDUSTRYWEEK, and the Chief Economist for HARDI.

Alan is co-author, along with his brother Brian, of the book MAKE YOUR MOVE, and has written numerous articles on economic analysis. He makes up to 150 appearances each year, and his keynotes and seminars have helped thousands of business owners and executives capitalize on emerging trends. 

Prior to joining ITR Economics, Alan was a principal in a steel fabrication company and also in a software development company.

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