A Few Questions About Taxes

by cactus

A Few Questions About Taxes

In the past few years, if you pointed out that the Bush tax cuts went primarily to those with high incomes, the response from the right was essentially this:

a. those with highest income got the biggest tax cut because they pay the most in taxes
b. the high income folks are the ones that do the most for the economy and create the most jobs

Question 1: What industry would you suppose the folks who benefited the most from cuts in the marginal income tax rates were in?
Question 2: What industry would you suppose the folks who benefited the most from cuts in the capital gains tax rates were in?
Question 3: Given your answer to questions 1 and 2 and recent economic developments, what do you think of response b above?
Question 4: What do you think Federal tax revenues are going to look like next year?
Question 5: How does your answer to question 4 change if we see more tax cuts? (Be sure to mention what side of the Laffer curve we’re on in your answer.)
Bonus Question 1: If you were to rank all Americans from 1 to 300 million in terms of how much they would benefit from the complete elimination of the inheritance tax, where do you estimate the eventual heirs of the CEOs and other officers of bankrupt and soon to be bailed out firms would place on your list?
Bonus Question 2: If you were to rank all Americans from 1 to 300 million in terms of how much they would benefit from further reductions in marginal income tax rates and capital gains tax rates, where do you estimate the eventual heirs of the CEOs and other officers of bankrupt and soon to be bailed out firms would place on your list?
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by cactus