Teresa Kerry's taxes....

[Matter]

www.rightvoices.com/archives/2004/10/16/scouring-teresas-taxes/

John Kerry’s near-billionaire wife, Teresa, reported more than $5 million in total income last year but paid only 12.5 percent in federal taxes — less than the average middle-class family — according to documents released yesterday by his campaign.

Teresa Heinz Kerry reported a total income of $5,072,533, including nearly $2.8 million that escaped all federal taxes because it was on interest-free investments from state, city and other public bonds.

She paid $628,401 in federal taxes, or a rate of 12.47 percent. The average middle-class family pays more than 20 percent.

Mrs. Kerry’s rate is barely above the lowest rate of 10 percent for the lowest-income Americans subject to taxes.

You know, for somebody who claims the rich don't pay enough in taxes....they sure seem to be avoid them frequently. Tsk tsk. Can anybody explain the hypocrisy?

Liberals?

[UncleVinny]

There's enough good and bad on both sides to go 'round.

You have rich people like Bill Gates - uses his billions to build a mult-million dollar house as a tribute to his ego on the shores of Washington state, while on the other hand, you get a movie star, like Tippi Hedrin (?) who uses a few million to change her Santa Barbara ranch into a haven for old, injured animals.

Then you have another ego trip in Donald Trump.
Another humanitarian in Sergeant Shriver who started the Special Olympics. So wealth alone is not the problem. I'd guess it's how you earned it and how you use it.

Lesseee . . . the Bush family earned an estimated $1.4 BILLION from the Saudi royal family over the last decade. What have they done? Bought G Jr. a baseball team. Paid off Carl Rove. Cannot think of much else.

[MO]

That sure was a good example of completely ignoring the question.

[Matter]

MO said:

That sure was a good example of completely ignoring the question.

Bingo.

Kerry is stating the rich should pay more in taxes ....and then avoids paying taxes himself with tax-free bonds. Why not find a taxable investment instrument and back his words with his deeds?

Hypocrite.

HUGE hypocrite

Vin, stay on topic...OK?

[julie]

Matter said:

Bingo.

Kerry is stating the rich should pay more in taxes ....and then avoids paying taxes himself with tax-free bonds. Why not find a taxable investment instrument and back his words with his deeds?

Hypocrite.

HUGE hypocrite

Vin, stay on topic...OK?

What purpose do tax-free bonds serve within the greater financial picture? Would society benefit more had Heinz paid 20% in taxes as compared to making 2.5 million available in bond money? Or: Would you recommend, for example, that Heinz be held to a 35% rate and eliminate bond options? Suggesting the wealthy pay more in taxes does not automatically exclude other tax provisions designed to put dollars belonging to the wealthy into positive play in our economy. I think we need to look at the whole picture, not just part of it.

[Matter]

julie said:

What purpose do tax-free bonds serve within the greater financial picture? Would society benefit more had Heinz paid 20% in taxes as compared to making 2.5 million available in bond money?

That's not the point. Kerry is campaigning for the rich to pay more in taxes! Kerry pays an average of 12% in taxes on his income while campaigning that the rich should pay more in taxes

Do you see the disconnect?

I do not disagree that bonds are valuable....that's not the point here.

Or: Would you recommend, for example, that Heinz be held to a 35% rate and eliminate bond options?

No, if Kerry really believes what is he campaigning on...just purchase regular taxable instruments like stocks. I wouldn't have any gripe then...and he wouldn't be a hypocrite.

Let's review:

Kerry says: The rich should pay more in taxes
Kerry's action: Purchase non-taxable security instruments to AVOID paying taxes

See my point? He could have just purchased regular stocks and fulfilled his own campaign platform.

Suggesting the wealthy pay more in taxes does not automatically exclude other tax provisions designed to put dollars belonging to the wealthy into positive play in our economy.

*Sigh* I understand that. You and I are not running for president and campaigning for the rich to pay more in taxes (which is ludicrous, to begin with) while doing the exact opposite.

Kerry is the only rich guy I see campaigning to pay more in taxes. Actually he appears to be campaigning for other rich people to pay more taxes... not him.

I think we need to look at the whole picture, not just part of it.

Don't tell me, email Mr. Kerry. He's the one who is not 'walking his talk'.

[Matter]

...more information to consider:

Some more interesting stuff about the Kerry-Heinz taxes...

nypost.com/postopinion/editorial/32173.htm

October 19, 2004 -- So, exactly what — and how much — is Teresa Heinz Kerry hiding?
Last Friday, Sen. John Kerry's wife — whose fortune Forbes magazine estimates at $750 million to $1 billion — released only two pages of what is likely a very large and complex 2003 tax return.

In contrast, President and Mrs. Bush produced their full returns months ago.

Heinz Kerry has resisted handing over any financial information for months, citing her family's "privacy."

That's an odd concern for someone who has married two public figures. Her first husband, John Heinz — an heir to the Heinz fortune — was a Republican senator from Pennsylvania. He died in a 1991 plane crash.

Surely she knows that political families' finances are — as Kerry-Edwards campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill put it recently in a quite different context — "fair game."

And the Kerry family finances are definitely relevant. His wife's wealth was an invaluable asset to John Kerry during the Democratic primaries: When he seriously fell behind Howard Dean in the fall of 2003, Kerry mortgaged his Boston townhouse in order to rescue his cash-starved campaign.

The mortgage might have been in Kerry's name, but the fact that he had a very wealthy wife who was capable of covering campaign liabilities had the contributions dried up doubtless smoothed the mortgage-approval process.

The very rich, you see, are different.

Many take advantage of tax loopholes and off-shore advantages of the sort so roundly excoriated by Kerry the candidate and running-mate John Edwards.

Does Teresa Heinz Kerry do that?

There's only one way to clear the air: Mrs. Kerry needs to release all her returns while there's still time for America to make a fair judgment on their relevance.

Why didn't they release all of their tax records like the President?

*sniff*

I do believe the foul stench of hypocrisy is getting thicker in here.....

[Matter]

*crickets chirping * ;D

[Matter]

*hoarse crickets chirping* ;D

[Matter]

*hypocrisy reminder*

[Matter]

Matter said:

*hypocrisy reminder*

Uh-huh

[Ian]

*sleeping crickets*

Why couldn't UV and Julie understand what seemed to me to be a simple, straightforward, and excellent point? Are they dumb or just deliberately misleading? But of course if you own a baseball team that exempts Horseface from hypocrisy. Great logic Vinney!

[Matter]

Ian said:

*sleeping crickets*

Why couldn't UV and Julie understand what seemed to me to be a simple, straightforward, and excellent point?

I dunno. I've posted this in another forum and got virtually the same response from a couple of liberals. They could really defend their positions either on this one.

This is 100% unadulterated 'tax the rich' hypocrisy.

[TNRighty]

UV,

Bill Gates invented a product that people like. Thus, people buy it. Thus Bill Gates has a pile of money Evel Kneivel couldn't jump over. Good for him. If you've ever used microsoft windows, shut up. If you think Bill Gates is so evil, go back to the DOS days and see how much you like that. Try writing FORTRAN programs instead of using windows-based software. A few days of that and you'll be thanking Bill Gates. If you think you can do better, go design the next great software package and make your own pile of cash. No one is stopping you. Otherwise, shut up.

By the way, John Kerry owns a handful of mansions. Do you hate him, too?