Money is there for the truly needy

I read with great amusement that the argument that too many citizens pay no federal income tax is a fallacy because “they do pay payroll taxes.” Surely anyone with even a fundamental knowledge of how our tax system works knows this is simply smoke and mirrors to mask the problem, something the liberals do on a regular basis.

Yes, anyone with a legitimate job and a W-2 on file gets federal payroll taxes deducted from their check. How much money they actually pay is determined when they file their tax returns the following April. If you get all of your collected payroll taxes back in a refund, then you have paid no federal income tax.

Fact: Depending on whose numbers you want to use, anywhere from 40 percent to 46 percent of working Americans wind up paying no federal income tax.

Fact: Between 17 percent and 22 percent of those who receive refunds get more back in their refunds than they paid in. This is redistribution of wealth. Period.

If you are a hardworking American who pays his taxes, you have probably noticed that the taxman has been chipping away at your pocketbook to the point where you’re wondering when it’s going to stop. The answer is never if we allow our government to spend beyond its means, allow almost half the country to pay no taxes on the backs of the other half, and continue to raise the number of people who become dependent on the government handout.

Wake up, America. The time has come to make tough decisions. There is plenty of money available to assist the truly needy. The rest of us need to stand tall, pull the plug on politicians who can’t make the tough decisions and clean up our house before we are Greece.

Tom Wendlandt

Palatine