Why are tax cuts ALWAYS aimed towards the middle class??

Question

Isnt it the lower class that would benefit from it more??

I never fully understood that at all.

Answer 1

because the lower class effectively pays no tax to begin with......

Answer 2

Depends on who is doing the cutting. When it's Democrats, they are aimed towards the middle class, as that is the class that pays the highest percentage of their real money in taxes, and that is the class that drives the economy. So giving the middle class more money to spend, save or invest will have a strong positive effect on the economy. The Republican tax cuts tend to favor the upper class, simply because that represents the Republicans' power core. The lower class pays relatively the least of their real money in income taxes, so giving them tax cuts would be less of a relative benefit to them than it would be to the middle class, and would have less of an impact on the economy. Now, if you were to lower sales taxes and similar regressive taxes, that would benefit the lower class more.  

Answer 3

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/art...

Whenever there was a war , taxes were increased to support the cost of war ,  but this time, government fooled middle class into war and gave billions of dollars of their money to corporates like Halliburton and Black water.

http://www.truthandpolitics.org/top-rate...

Answer 4

Because the Lower Class doesn't pay very much in taxes. Currently the rate is 5% if you make less then 20k. Too much I agree but its hard to cut such a small amount

Answer 5

The lower class are already reaping benefits like subsidized housing, food assistance, paying little if any taxes etc. The working middle class do not get those benefits and they pay much more taxes and deserve a break.

Answer 6

The lower class pays little or no taxes as is.  And the upper classes have figured out loopholes and tax shelters that benefit them in that it reduces the amount of taxes they pay.  That puts the brunt of the tax burden square on the shoulders of the middle class wage earner. They don't make enough money to partake in the loopholes and shelters of the wealthy and make too much to be considered for a lower tax bill.  

Answer 7

Why would you give a tax cut to someone who either doesn't pay any taxes or very little to begin with?

Answer 8

First of all, most of the tax cuts over the last 8 years have been given to those in the highest tax bracket...the wealthiest Americans.  Second, as others have said, the lower class doesn't pay much in taxes anyway.  The middle class is who carries the burden in this country.  

Answer 9

lower class does not pay much in taxes to begin with.

the middle class is the vas majority of the country...and USED to be the heart of it.

now the middle class is going away and the republicans are drooling over the idea of there being a 2 class system... rich and poor...  

Answer 10

Middle Class ensures a strong economy.

Answer 11

You are trying to learn.  Good.

The poorest folks don't pay taxes because they have no money.

The extremely rich don't pay taxes because Republicans excuse them from responsibility.

So the former middle class, now extinct, used to have to pay for their taxes as well as their own and provide money for the very poor, however they got to be that way--accidents, bad luck, laziness,  bad character, injustice against them, stupidity--it doesn't matter--they still used to get paid for.

Now the extremist republican noons have changed that.

Their tax cuts were for the undeserving extremely wealthy; and the inflation of prices of everything--2500 percent since 1941 has not been matched by increases in wages,which have been raised only 700 percent.

Bottom line:

The Democrats want tax cuts for the middle class, whatever is left of these poverty stricken victims of trickledown economic voodoo ideas;the poor still can't pay--and are still having children they can't pay for and getting poorer.  And the 1/2 of one percent elitists millionaire CEO undeservers and their hangers on are are still paying nothing.

So--it's your call--to whom would you give a tax break?

And onto which class do you fasten fair taxes--how abut those who have been handed 75% of all the wealth in the country for sending our jobs overseas, playing games of buyout and insisting that people who do work should lose every benefit of decent salary, justice and healthcare pay they ever had?

Answer 12

The lower class pays no taxes and upper class doesn't need tax cuts.  That is why tax cuts are always aimed at the middle class.

Answer 13

The middle class is the backbone of America.

Answer 14

Middle class? FYI, we all pay 40% tax on our overtime pay. The government needs some saps to help offset the tax breaks given to the affluent

Answer 15

I would just like to add the second part of this debate that hasn't been posted yet. It does help in some cases to give the tax breaks to the wealth as they pay the middle class wages. With that being said I still feel the middle class needs a break. But over taxing the wealth does bad things to the economy just as having the middle class paying higher taxes would.

Answer 16

You would have to pay taxes to get a tax cut. Giving tax cuts to the poor doesn't make sense because the poor don't pay taxes.  

Answer 17

because the middle class is the biggest class, therefore affects the most people, therefore gets the most votes.

Answer 18

Probably because they usually aren't.  Here's an analysis of the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_tax_cu...  His tax cuts benefitted the rich far more than anyone in the middle and lower classes.  But you also have to realize that the lowest class often pays little or no taxes, so you can't really give them a cut.

Answer 19

I disagree with the assertion in your question.  Bush's tax cuts were aimed at the rich much more than the middle class.  Personally, I don't think anyone making under $30,000 per year should be taxed at all except for sales taxes in those states that have them.  I do think that income, capital gains and estate taxes should be truly progressive and culminate in anyone making $1,000,000+ per year paying a 90% tax with no loopholes and strict enforcement.  The greatness of the U.S. and the strength of our economy never came from the wealth of the wealthy, but from the strength and health of our manufacturing and labor forces.

Answer 20

The IRS doesn't classify "lower, middle and upper" class. You have to look at the individual tax plans to see who gets what changes.

The thing is, most people consider themselves middle class. A lot of people that an economist might consider poor think of themselves as lower-middle class, while others who might be considered wealthy by most Americans think of themselves as upper-middle. As a result "middle class" is a big net that most people hearing a speech, hearing about a tax cut, will think applies to them. It might or might not, depending on the specific plan, but it gets more people thinking it is targeting them than is probably the reality.

Answer 21

1) The "lower class" doesn't vote.

2) The "lower class" really doesn't pay taxes.

Answer 22

The middle class is dying. The middle class pays the highest percentage of their income in taxes. We cannot afford to pay more. We need relief because we are struggling to pay our basic bills, never mind the niceties of life that we deserve because we work so hard and give so much of our money away. The rich need to pay more in taxes because they can afford to and it's to their benefit because we will have a more stable society. They will benefit in other ways as well. It's not always just about the bottom line.  

Answer 23

no because usually the lower class is riding out on government benefits and their income (if any) is so low they are barely taxed.... that is doesn't effect them either way

Answer 24

The myth has been created by politicians that the "middle class" pays more than their fair share of taxes.  All taxpayers pay too much but the top 5% income earners pay 50% of the income taxes in this country.  The bottom 5% don't pay any income taxes, actually the percentage is most likely much larger, but I haven't checked lately.

Politicians know that "middle income" people vote - therefore, promising a tax break to a big portion of the electorate makes political sense.

Just remember that Clinton and the Democrat Congress immediately raised the gasoline tax 5 cents per gallon upon taking office.  Raising energy taxes adversely affects all segments of our society and raises costs for those least able to afford it, namely the working poor.