Bushes, Cheneys reaped tax benefits

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&e=18&u=/ap/bush_income_taxes

<<Bush and his wife, Laura, paid $227,490 in federal income taxes — or about 28 percent of their $822,126 in adjusted gross income. For 2002, the Bushes paid about 31 percent of their adjusted gross income — slightly higher at $856,056 — in federal taxes, for a total of $268,719.


The difference from one year to the next was even more pronounced for Cheney. He and his wife, Lynne, owed $253,067 in 2003 federal taxes — about 20 percent of their $1.3 million in adjusted gross income. In 2002, the Cheneys earned less but paid more, owing 29 percent — or $341,114 — of their $1.2 million in income.


White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said the president and vice president join 109 million other Americans also benefiting from the tax cuts.>>

I paid less than half of what I paid last year! Of course with my layoff I earned less than half too.

I'm sorry, that's crude, but these guys make me :puke:

http://www.wgoeshome.com

see, those marginal tax rates don't mean a thing!! The rich do NOT pay the top marginal rate that you see listed in the tax table! It used to be 39.6% but Bush lowered to around 35%, I think. Still, it's practically meaningless when the super-rich like Cheney pay only 20% AGI in taxes.

My family made a five-figure income in 2003, and we paid 19.7% of our AGI in taxes.

Should we really be paying the same percent as Dick Cheney, who made 20 times what we made? Whatever happened to progressive taxation? (rhetorical question - just trying to prove my point)