Monday, October 18, 2004

Heinz-Kerry pays LESS taxes than the middle class!

Terrrrraaaayyyyyyyyyyyzzzzzzzzzzaaaaaaaaa the ketchup heiress pays less in federal income taxes than the middle class that her hubbie purports to represent in his campaign. According to the Wall Stree Journal:

"In 2003, Mrs. Kerry -- or Teresa Heinz, as she declared herself on her IRS 1040 form -- earned $5.07 million, hardly a surprising income for someone estimated to be worth nearly $1 billion.

"The news is that $2.78 million of that income came in the form of tax- exempt interest from what the Kerry campaign's press release attributed to investments in 'state, municipal and public entity bonds.' What the campaign didn't say is that these are the kind of investments that rich people can afford to hire lawyers and accountants to steer their money into.

On her remaining 'taxable' income of $2.29 million, Mrs. Kerry paid $627,150 in taxes, for an overall average federal tax rate of only 12.4% on her $5.07 million in total income. This puts Mrs. Kerry's tax rate at well below that of other filers in her super-rich neighborhood. But it also means she is paying a lower average rate than nearly all middle- class taxpayers paid in 2001, the last year for which the IRS has published the data."

The full article can be found here: http://www.drudgereport.com/flash8.htm

There's a liberal mindset for you. They pointificate about how we need to "invest" (a political euphemism meaning "tax and spend more") in social programs and vote-buying schemes, but they aren't fond of paying for said programs with their own money. Liberals don't give much to charity, and precious few of them gave their tax cuts back to the same government that they wish to bloat further. In short, when it comes to money, liberals are hypocrites.

"Good enough for me, but not for thee!"