Imputed Income – Part of the Democrats' Plan
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Neal Boortz
Wednesday, July 31, 2002Many of you have read my Democrats' Secret Plan for America. If you haven't, you should. Here's your link: http://www.boortz.com/demsecrets.htm
Well – it's time to add another element to the Democrats' Secret Plan. It's nothing new, really. Clinton came up with this idea early in his reign. He was stymied by the arrival of a Republican majority in Congress.
Two words: Imputed income.
Imputed? What do dat mean?
One definition is to "credit." So, by imputed income, we mean that you are credited with income you didn't necessarily earn.
The goal is clear. Democrats want to milk the high achievers for as much money as they possibly can. There are really only two ways Democrats can get more income tax out of you. One way is to raise the tax rates. At some point this is going to prove to be politically risky. So, how else can they bleed you for more?
Even Democrats who have been to government schools can do simple math. They know they can get more money out of you if that line on your income tax return that reads "taxable income" can be increased. Forty percent of $120,000 is more than 40 percent of $90,000. All you have to do is impute – credit – more income to the poor tax-paying sap.
So – here is the idea that the Clinton administration was tossing around prior to the voter revolution of 1994. They were going to 'impute' – credit – extra income to people who own their own homes. Here's how.
Let's say you own a home worth $250,000. Your payments on that home are about $2,000 a month. The government uses census data (there is a reason they ask all of those extra questions) to figure out what a $250,000 home in your neighborhood would rent for. Let's say it would rent for $3,000 a month. In other words, you could rent your home for $1,000 a month more than your payments.
You're not renting your home, though. You're living in it. This isn't fair to people who have to rent homes, though. They don't get the tax deductions you get. They don't own their own homes because, unlike you, they haven't "won life's lottery," as Dickie Gephardt likes to phrase it.
The government would like to get a little more money from you – being a rich homeowner and all – to spend on those poor renters and people who aren't as "fortunate" as you are. This would all be in exchange for their votes, of course.
So … here was the proposed law. When you fill out your tax return you will have to consult certain tables and government data to determine what a home like yours would rent for in your neighborhood. We'll use the example above. Your home would rent for $3,000. You're paying $2,000 a month to your mortgage company.
You will be instructed to take the difference ($1,000 a month) and multiply it by 12. This gives you $12,000. That's your imputed income. Add that to your other earnings to come up with your taxable income. Now – write your check. If you're in the 39 percent bracket, you can kiss off almost $4,680.
Don't gripe. This is all for those needed government programs for the "less fortunate."
By the way – you should know that there is an imputed-income bill in the Congress. It's about child support, not home mortgages. If you're a deadbeat dad who owes back child support, you would, under this law, have to add the amount of your arrearage to your taxable income and pay taxes on it.
Fact is, you've already paid taxes on this income once. The bill would just punish you for not forking it over to the ex-wife by making you pay tax on it a second time. Today, child support. Tomorrow, that money you could be making if you would only rent your home instead of living in it.