WASHINGTON (AP) — Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it’s simply somebody else’s problem. About 47 percent will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability. That’s according to projections by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research organization.
It is difficult to believe that this is a healthy situation. It’s easy to believe that this is a very good argument for shifting more of the burden of federal taxation away from direct to indirect taxation. And it’s not only easy, but it’s right.