Three Big Lies of the Super-Rich - and taxes
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/07/23/three-big-lies-of-the-super-rich/
1. Higher taxes on the rich will hurt small businesses and discourage job creators
A recent Treasury analysis found that only
2.5% of small businesses would face higher taxes from the expiration of the Bush tax cuts.
As for job creation, its not coming from the people with money. Over 90% of the assets owned by millionaires are held in a combination of low-risk investments (bonds and cash), the stock market, real estate, and personal business accounts. Angel investing (capital provided by affluent individuals for business start-ups) accounted for less than 1% of the investable assets of high net worth individuals in North America in 2011. The Mendelsohn Affluent Survey agreed that the very rich spend less than two percent of their money on new business startups.
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3. A booming stock market is good for all of us
The news reports would have us believe that happy days are here again when the stock market goes up. But as the market rises, most Americans are getting a smaller slice of the pie.
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Thanks in good part to a meager 15% capital gains tax, the richest 400 taxpayers DOUBLED their income and nearly HALVED their tax rates in just seven years (2001-2007). So dramatic is the effect that anyone making more than $34,500 a year in salary and wages is taxed at a higher rate than an individual with millions in capital gains.
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