Fact Check: Pastor Rick Warren Tweets ‘HALF of America pays NO taxes’

Wow, you got technical. I think everyone knows when a person talks about “taxes” at the federal level we are talking about income taxes.
But thanks for bringing light to ALL the other taxes we ALL pay in some way shape or form.

Income,
payroll,
state income,
property,
sales,
gasoline,
cigarette,
alcohol,
road,
self-employment,
luxury,
gas guzzler,
capitol gains,
death,
unemployment,
and all those countless “fees” on your natural gas bill, cable bill and phone bill – are just some of the taxes I can think of off the top of my head.
Clearly, we are taxed enough already.

Rick Warren is the voice of the GOP and the rich. Sean Hannity cries crocodile tears saying he pays so much in taxes. The fact is that the rich have accountants to figure out how to reduce their tax burden. If corporations would hire and pay higher salaries, more people would be paying federal income tax.

Thank you for posting this article.

The top 25 corporations in the USA paid last year, on average, taxes at the rate of 17%. Same thing with the millionaires and billionaires who employ armies of accountants to lower their tax bills. The people in this country paying the actual, highest TRUE tax rates are the middle class……

Searamber, do you honestly think that if a corporation sells a product for $1.00 and you get your way, and tack on another 15% tax on them, that the product they sell won’t be at $1.15 or higher for profit margins?
We the consumer will pay any tax hikes.

This must upset President Obama.
He’s for Shared Sacrifice Shared Prosperity.
Time to look into the 5% Minimum Paid Plan.
Everyone pays at least 5% federal income taxes regardless of tax bracket or deductions.

Every April 15th the national media produces article after article about who pays taxes. Federal taxes, not social security and not state and local taxes. The entire budget debate is about federal finances and how it will be funded…by cuts or by cuts with raising taxes. It’s obvious Mr. Warren was talking about the same topic the national media focuses on every April 15th. Sad Ms. Bingham had to look to the blogosphere to find a question to fact check about a 140 character tweet.

My MEGA-church, temple of right wing hate, pays ZERO taxes. That’s why I can afford a mansion, a Rolls Royce, and a private plane (for which I get a tax exemption). Poor Jeezus freaks paying 28% of their pay in taxes, then I guilt them into giving me (oops I mean Jeezus) another 10%, it’s a wonder I’m 400 lbs and they’re not. Girth is a sing of opulence.

Angellightr: You write:”the super rich, are not paying their fair share and the tax burden.” I agree that the lower tax rates for the high-income group should not have been extended.
On the other hand, it should not be possible for the federal tax refund to exceed the amount of federal income taxes a person paid in during that year.
In other words, someone on welfare with three kids should not get a “TAX REFUND” of more than $6,000.

The Presidents job Czar Jeffery with GE just moved a whole portion of GE to China. GE pays no taxes, and is taking away jobs. Now how much do you believe the Presidents bull about going after the rich and corporations. NONE, it’s all class warfare. Do you really think Nancy is going to give up part of her $35 million? No way Jose! The Dems don’t count fees as taxes, and now they want to tax what they call our junk food, cokes, burgers, candy, etc. Whose going to pay most of that tax? Poor and middle class!

The government’s main job now is to confiscate money from earners and redistribute it while increasing its own size and adding non-productive revenue liabilities to its own payrolls. Then it holds our credit rating hostage unless we give in to allowing it to increase our debt and it’s spending. When we say we don’t want the government to do that, it says it will anyway. Those who support that have to be removed from office and replaced with people who aren’t predisposed to tyrannical rule and will stop the out of control spending and debt. It’s amazing though to see progressives cling to the old notion of increased spending and tax hikes. It’s more of the same. Of course there are conservatives who are ok with spending as long as we don’t increase taxes. Ok. Those fun days are over and it brought us here. Stop asking for more of the same. It’s time to get real now and lower actual spending and end baseline budgeting AND pass a balanced budget amendment. No additional taxes nor debt. Those days are over. We’re done with that nonsense.

The bottom 20% make less than $16,000 per year. The next 20% make less than $33,000. So, 40% of the country makes less than $33,000. You aren’t going to get a lot from someone making $20,000 per year. He has a valid point to some extent.
The other shoe must fall, though. Half of the country doesn’t pay federal income tax because half of the country’s got low wage, kids and a mortgage.

Uh, how much of my property taxes go to fund the federal gov’t. The point is still the same….nearly 50% of this country pays NOTHING in federal income tax. Talk about having no skin in the game. No wonder folks vote like they have no care in the world. As long as they know the nanny state will provide, they’ll keep on voting for those politicians that keep making promises to take care of them.

“Williams said that about half of those who do not pay income tax are still paying the 7.65 percent payroll tax.”
And who Mr. Williams benefits from that 7.65% tax -plus the 7.65% tax the employers pays. Why, it is the individual of course and since there is a benefit to it for them it should be considered a forced “retirement” plan.

But is it true? Does half of America get off scot-free when it comes to paying taxes?
Generally when we say half do not pay we are indeeed refering to those on a federal level. And that someone who pays payroll tax for FICA or medicare
in itself is not something they pay for someone else ,rather they are paying for their well being in later years.
In other words they are not contributing to society the way the 50% who get nailed to the cross for their taxes.

freedom wrote, “The Presidents job Czar Jeffery with GE just moved a whole portion of GE to China. GE pays no taxes, and is taking away jobs.”
LOL! Imelt is NOT A JOBS CZAR! Geez, you guys on the Right just LOVE your stupid little sound bytes. He is an UNPAID adviser to the President, and he has NO AUTHORITY to make policy. Also, GE actually DID pay taxes last year. Just not very much. Look it up.

cc

You liberals can’t tell a consistent story.
When the issue is that only 1/2 of Americans pay taxes you remind us that only 50% pay Federal Taxes but we all pay many other taxes. But then you deceitful libs claim that our taxes are at a historic low. But that’s only true about Federal Taxes and only BECAUSE 50% pay taxes.
IT ISN’T TRUE when you add up State Income Tax, local and State sales taxes, property tax, Social Security, Unemployment insurance, vehicle registration fees, telephone taxes (look at your bill!), airline ticket taxes, gasoline tax, Corporate Taxes (yes you dummies, corporations just pass those costs down to the consumers), liquor tax, sun tanning tax, …… on and on.

I agree with what Rick Warren is saying. My family of 4 lives on a single income and we have always gotten money back after filing federal income tax even though my husband takes the lowest deduction he can. I don’t feel the tax burden; I benefit from all of the federal programs (itemized deductions, child tax credit, earned income credit, mortgage interest credit). I don’t feel that I have much of a horse in this race.

“we are all for President Obama and his assertion that tax revenue increases”
Makes perfect sense. So why not concentrate on how wealth is created and spur some job growth allowing people who presently pay no taxes becuase they have no job or a low paying job to pay them The revenue is increased the money borrowed to keep these people fed is reduced and everyone is happy. Simply taking a dollar from some rich dude and getting absolutely no productivity from it does very little for anyone.

But the top tier STILL pays most of the taxes. And you want to publish them for succeeding? Really? There are the most who get up every morning and produce. Even if they are “trust fund” babies, someone in their family produced something.

Look you whining right wingers, the top 20% of the nation make enough to live and then some… that’s why they pay taxes, because you can’t squeeze MORE tax from people living at or below the poverty line!
Meanwhile the top 20% is making the majority of the cash and banking it, not spending it. Tax them until they put it to work for the nation. Use it or lose it its called.
Meanwhile notice what a miser you appear to be asking the walking poor to pay your fair share of taxes.

Whenever I hear that sound bite about half of Americans not paying any taxes I always hear in their voice the implication that they think half of Americans are somehow tax cheats and/or lazy bums. That’s why it is important to point our exactly what ABC did, that the working class, working poor, and retired people in American, which makes up most of the half that’s not paying income tax, actually do pay a high percentage of their income in the form of other taxes, in fact a higher percentage of their income than most of the rest of us.
Secondly, let’s not forget all the wealthy people and corporations that also don’t pay income tax. They have favorable tax laws written into the tax codes for them by well paid lobbyists who pay politicians to make sure that their tax burden is as low as possible. I bet that number far exceeds the amount that would be collected from the half that don’t pay income tax if we were to force a minimum percentage of income to be paid in, say 10%.

Rick Warrens himself is one of those people exempt from taxes. He is a multimillionaire “preacher,” but his values directly conflict with what Jesus taught.
Why on earth is he complaining about this, instead of working to change the system so that HE pays taxes like the rest of us?

First let me say that I am not a republican and I am not a right wing religious fanatic but I do want to defend Rick Warren with regards to person who stated “This pseudo-religious con man is living in the lap of luxury while deliberately fleecing his “sheep” on a daily basis. ” Rick Warren may be rich and conservative, he may even be a pseudo-religious con man but the one thing he is not doing is fleecing his flock. He wrote a book called “The Purpose Driven Life” and after the book made him tons of money he returned 25 years worth of salary to his church and no longer takes a salary from Saddleback Church. You are welcome to have your opinion about the facts, you are not, however, allowed to write your own “facts” in order to justify your attacks on a person’s character.

“Posted by: angellightr | Jul 29, 2011 8:50:26 AM
My MEGA-church, temple of right wing hate, pays ZERO taxes. That’s why I can afford a mansion, a Rolls Royce, and a private plane (for which I get a tax exemption). Poor Jeezus freaks paying 28% of their pay in taxes, then I guilt them into giving me (oops I mean Jeezus) another 10%, it’s a wonder I’m 400 lbs and they’re not. Girth is a sing of opulence.”
The church pays no taxes because it is a 501c3 charity and every person that gives to it gets to take that gift off of their taxes. Rick Warren does pay taxes. He does not get a salary from Saddleback Church and even repaid 25 years worth of salary to the church after he made tons of money on his books “The Purpose Driven Life” and “The Purpose Driven Church”
Also, anyone that is actually paying 28% of their income in taxes is anything but poor.
28% Bracket
$83,600 – $174,400 Single
$139,350 – $212,300 Married Filing Jointly
$119,400 – $193,350 Head of Household
Now I don’t know where you live but here in North Carolina someone that makes between $83,000 and $212,000 is not considered “poor” and if someone with that level of income wants to give 10% of their income to a church and not buy their kids Nike shoes and Starter jackets then more power to them. I am sure whatever the church does with the money is bound to be better than raising yet another generation of consumerist kids that could do to their parents what the wall street jerks have done to their parents just so they can have their Lamborghini and their Armani Suits. I am not a right wing conservative bible thumper but I will not sit idly by and watch Rick Warren be accused of something that he has not done. It is rare you find a man that would give up his salary at a church but he took it one step further by giving back all the salary the church ever paid him for 25 years. That puts him way up on my list of OK people.

spydyee…right on.

Why do so many prominent “Christians” hate the poor so much? This is a rhetorical question because I know most christian leaders do not read the bible because its a big wordy book, and they are very lazy not to mention quite stupid. Rick Warren is a modern day pharisee, as are most of his ilk among the right wing.

I recently retired and pay COBRA benefits of $1,400 per month for medical insurance. If you take the percentage of those premiums that is funneled into insurance company profits, it is around $4000 per year. That is much more than I pay in property taxes.
What do I get for my property taxes… Police protection, Fire and Life Safety protection, waste management, schools, libraries. The list goes on.
What do I get for my $4000 per year of insurance company PROFIT — the sound of crickets.
There are many ways that we spend money in this country. Tea Partiers have made it a requirement that we all pay exorbitant amounts into insurance companys’ profits to get any health insurance regulation.
The government is generally the cheapest way to provide a social benefit like health care because they eliminate the profit motive. American soldiers used to do the work that private mercenaries are now performing. These private military contractors are making double to quadruple the wages our soldiers are. Kowtowing to the altar of Capitalism to perform public service is generally more expensive than using private means.