WATCH: Will Smith Doesn’t Want To Pay Taxes

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WATCH: Will Smith Doesn’t Want To Pay Taxes

May 14th, 2012 7:01 pm Avi Zenilman

When Will Smith recently visited a French TV studio, he talked a good game about paying more taxes … until he was told that new French President Francois Hollande wanted to raise the tax rate on high earners to 75%. Check out his reaction at the 1:20 mark.

(Via Wonkbook.)

Thepiedpirate

Hey Libs … where are all the comments? You cold blooded, steal from children their futures with your spend it and borrow now insanity?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Berry/100000166949458 Dan Berry

You have said enough to let us know you are a person that can make up facts,thank you very much.

http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Vanhoosier/1627051101 James Vanhoosier

mr. berry do you ever check profiles. i do on sites like this.i don’t give much credibility to what they say,if they only have a user name and a town. i don’t have as much of my profile showing as you do,but it is nice to see there are a few adults on here

Marjani

You know that it was the GOP who mortgage the futures of the “Libs,” don’t you?

They paid for the Iraq War with credit based on the future incomes of those “libs” children, then spent like there was no tomorrow.

If you don’t make at least $7Mn a year, that means your kids are paying for their mistakes, as well.

Methinks you might be aiming at the wrong target. The GOP not only waged war and charged it on your future credit, but sent the “lib”ses kids off to war to die for it, as well… Mostly killing innocent people who had never done a thing to them.

And more people died as a result of that war than died as terrorists.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1851598579 Ryan Samuel Folk

You sir….are an idiot. Get your facts straight first, then talk. We’ve killed many terrorists over the years, more than the number of our guys killed. By the way, Bush didn’t spend close to half a trillion dollars….Obama did. In case you haven’t noticed, that’s $500,000,000,000. No war in history has ever cost that much, but apparently America is worth its weight in paper.

Sam1895

All I know is that the GOP was in the house ! And Clinton left with a supplus. Then Bush tax breaks during a War. Come on. You dont beleive what you write !

http://www.facebook.com/people/Juliet-Giles/100003226764767 Juliet Giles

obama ruin the usa- big govt. big spender; trillion dollrs deficit. omg bama.

Sam1895

You are aware this was France and we live in the USA ? And who wants to pay 75% ?
The Gov has been borrowing money since the Civil War ! But the Rep mortage our Social Security ! Or to be fair, Congress has. So both are to blame. But you decide to blams the current President ! Vote with your head…..not lack of knowledge.
altpro

This story is mis-leading. Has nothing to do with Will Smith saying he is willing to pay more taxes in the UNITED STATES where the rate is no where 75 percent. Go back to sleep until your hero Mr. Romney wakes you up with other stupid crap that you like so much to attack us “Liberals”. Nighty night.
http://twitter.com/JenniferTSchult Jennifer T. Schultz

I am a lib and I am here. that is in france that it is 75% and not on the backs of the middle class there either. also, that 75% is not even close to what obama wants. and taxes right now have never been lower both for rich and middle class. of course rich who have swiss bank accounts and a cayman island one get even a bigger one. they have been for almost 12 years now. originally from bush.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3EZLD65ZW2HPC5KWHR5BB5XITE Blue

Worry more about the futures that were stolen by Mitt Romney, Bain, Inc. and Wall Street.
http://profile.yahoo.com/O3QF7ER5O2UUUC2Q2HAJP6HNSQ wake up

This moron doe’nt know his political history,it was and still is the republicons who steel from all of us. they want all the money no matter who they hurt !!
hellowoman

Where have you been? Republicns have been borrowing and spending. The Bush tax cut was the largest tax cut in history for the top 1%, and it was supposed to be temporary. Also, first time to give tax cut during time of war, while lots of spending going on. We were putting it on the backs of our children as you put it. We couldn’t pay for it, so borrow away. We can’t pay for those tax cuts, but Republicans insist that they stay permanent. They own over 40% of the nation’s wealth. Top 10% own over 50%. The bottom 80% own only 7%. The top 1% take home share of the national income pool has nearly tripled in roughly three decades. We overlook the large tax cuts to Companies sending jobs over seas and tax cuts to Big Oil. All this on the watch of Republicans. This on the backs of the 90% who are struggling. Look at the job losses during the Bush era. Has anyone noticed that the job creators were not creating jobs under Bush. With all the tax cuts they got, where are the jobs? Until the crisis occured nobody wanted to notice this fact. Loosing 750,000 jobs in one month finally made us all notice.
she343

I paid taxes at much higher rates than today for years– who stole my “future”?
I would rather leave bills than children who do not have a county that is functioning!

Marjani

Will isn’t a millionaire “like that.” Certainly not a billionaire.

I don’t know what the horror was, though … he endorsed Pres Obama.

Also, before the Republicans got greedy enough to decide that living off millions wasn’t enough … the tax rate for “the rich” was at 70% – and none of them suffered as a result of it.

They still had millions left to live off of…

ralphkr

Shucks, Marjani, I can remember when the top tax rate was 90% and I even paid Fed and State income taxes on my $1,800 per annum income in the 1950s. Of course, $1,800 was a lot more then…you could get the top of the line Plymouth or Chevy for under $1,800. Back when the tax rate was above 75% there were jobs going begging nor there was their huge disparity in income between the workers and the top chiefs such as there is now..

DurdyDawg

But… But that was before the industry rats deserted the ship for lower wages and tax breaks.. We now have a skeleton corp that also purchases their machines and sometimes even toilet paper from other countries. The desertion of jobs over seas is what’s hampering our progress.

ralphkr

Yes, and if you look at what CEOs pull in now they range from 100 times the employee wages up to over 1,000 times (and that is employee wages in the US) with average edging close to 500 times employee’s wages but the differential used to be well under 30 times more for a CEO than for a wage slave until about 30 years ago when compensation for management started to skyrocket. The beauty of the argument that lowering taxes for the uberwealthy will make for more jobs is that it leaves unstated that the majority of those jobs will be in third world countries.

DurdyDawg

I guess I don’t get this ‘tax rate’ thing.. To me that would be paying seven hundred thousand dollars tax on a million dollars.. Am I wrong? Does it actually mean, as a base it’s 70% but with all the tax breaks and write-offs it could go down to 13%? How would that help anything other than make one group continue to hate the other?

https://twitter.com/#!/davidjkramer DavidKramer

Add in all the taxes from the federal level including payroll taxes like SS and medicare, state, county, local, property, sales, etc, etc, you get effective tax rates of 50-75% now. But leftists will never actually bring that up now will they?

Marjani

The Leftists are paying it, too; if you don’t hear them complaining about it why are you?

It isn’t about paying taxes … it’s about how the money is used when taxes are paid.

I will bring it up.

Social security and medicare and state county and local property sales taxes, ad valorem all that are separate accounts, most of which doesn’t add to the federal deficit. The social security accounting system is entirely separate and is carrying us in the “black” right now, as they say.

Social security taxes are even paid into by “illegals” under bogus socials who cannot get that money back because they are not US citizens. We get to keep it all, they can’t even get a tax credit because they are not US citizens.

I will bring it up because not because it isn’t true, but because those are different taxes collected at different rates for different services.

Leftists may pay into the system, and deserve to represented because they do pay dearly.

If they don’t get you coming in one door, they get you coming out of another. It’s called a revolving door effing.

It’s what the money is spent ON that people are holding the government accountable for, because the government itself is never going away. Nor will it get smaller.

As prices inflate, so will the cost of running the government, and considering that the GOP waged war on OUR credit with the “full faith and backing” of the citizens of the United States who don’t make enough to live on, let alone to pay for a war, it seems the point of an argument like this would take on a meaningful tilt, like “what are we paying taxes for”, and “where is the money going?”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Daniel-Lavigne/100003001156534 Daniel Lavigne

‘The Tax Refusal’ may well be the answer to America’s problems.

A large proportion of income earners in Canada are now joining the movement and refusing to file tax returns OR pay taxes INCLUDING the Provincial and Federal sales taxes (Called the ‘Goods And Services Tax’).

It is important to note that more than 150,000 Canadians have joined ‘The Tax Refusal’ and have vowed to never again pay taxes or file tax returns until the day that Canada STOPS helping America develop and maintain its nuclear and other weapons of mass murder; and its plans and preparations to USE such weapons.

They are doing so in keeping with the fact that Canada (And America and all other UN countries.) have signed the UN Treaty calling upon all to act in accordance with their duty to refuse to aid, abet, fund or otherwise assist, in any fashion whatsoever, any society that is party to plans and preparations that involve a will and capacity to commit mass murder. (As outlined in the Nuremberg Principles.)

International Humanity House now has a presence of ‘FaceBook’.

Maintained by a Canadian member of that group, that effort is focused on the possibility that the majority can be made to wake and to refuse to support nations and actions that mock our very humanity.

I urge all to think about their lawful duty to refuse to support societies that would commit mass murder in order to gain their military and political goals.

Thank you.

Marjani

Yaah, they tried that one before–back about 10 years ago someone was trying to get me involved in that.

IRS shut them down. With a quickness.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Maynard-Runkle/100003382332086 Maynard Runkle

Pied Pirate, don’t like to let incovenient facts get in the way do you? GWBush raised the deficit as much as Obummer and yet he had a flourishing economy that helped him collect more income. Of course, he had the false flag of 9/11 to get all you flag wavers to support his war profiteering buddies and pappy. (Yes, I said false flag. If you think a bunch of NOT fanatic Mulims made the towers collapse by exploding into dust with a couple of jets they didn’t know how to fly, I am not surprised you would conveniently look simplistically at the deficit.) The lease holder admitted Building Seven was “pulled.” That’s obvious because the theory it was structurally weakened on one side by a few feeble fires is foolish. It would have tipped over, not come straight down at almost the speed of gravity. And how do you think bone fragments found on top of the Deutsche Bank Building in 2006 got there? The jet had already passed by the bank so its momentum would have thrown debris to the side away from the bank. The answer, the obvious, reported by firefighters and recorded on tape: EXPLOSIONS! Even if you deny that at least five of the “hijackers” turned up alive, all together they had no access to wire the buildings for detonation. The bomb sniffing dogs were PULLED from the Towers the Thursday before. (Convenient!). Workmen were coming and going with cables and equipment the weekend BEFORE 9/11. Convenient!
The tragic tale told by Ted (Olson) was proved untrue (false, fabricated) when the FBI reported at the Moussaoui terror trial that calls from wife Barbara were “UNCONNECTED!”
Why did I say Obummer? Because he’s going along with everything. That makes him guilty too.

Marjani

Obummer. Your language gives you away that you are incapable of having an intelligent conversation.

Do not engage, people. This is a HERO Troll.

They are operatives sent in to engage people in ‘anti-Obama’ conversation, not by the facts as they stand, but by spreading dissension to rile people up, divide and conquer, and discourage and dissuade.

This person is either a Breitbart Troll or a Murdoch patsy, or a FOX-paid operative.

ord

Make the dam rich pay their fare share and off of the backs of the working class.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3EZLD65ZW2HPC5KWHR5BB5XITE Blue

You got that right!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_65KOLJUKPNK3MHVMDUOKM4TGYQ albertm

In the 1960s in the USA, the tax on earnings over 3 million $ a year, was 90%. The USA was never in better shape financially. In the later years each party little by little reduced the rate of the wealthy and the middle and lower classes suffered. This was the beginning of BILLIONAIRES. Now the super rich control both parties……it should be called the UCA..United Corporations of America.

http://www.facebook.com/geronimo.schmidt Geronimo Schmidt

Different times. The COLD War was raging and we were competing with the commies. The economy was good because we were wasting money on defense builded in the US . We were a manufacturing economy them. Not many other developed countries I could move to back in those days.
We also did not have this Medicare/Medicaid and other benefit programs bills we have now
Now, if I was a billionaire and the government try to tax me at 90%, I would move my assets out of the country and can move to any country that would take me and treat me better.

http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/CGBAMEQJBGDV4MESQB2W27LKYQ joshp

No where in there does he say he doesn’t want to pay taxes.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Michael-Stoll/100000621443352 Michael Stoll

If you want to bankrupt America vote Obama . He has Increased the deficit by 5 tril . He is borrowing 32 to 38 cents for every dollar he is spending . He has spent more in 3 yrs then the 43 previous Administrations COMBINED . I would vote for Kim Kardashian over this . Will smith is a typical underinformed Lib who just got a wake up call . Like a lot of his un patriotic bretren I fully expect him to go the same route that Eduardo from fb did and renounce his U S citizenship while living here most of the time and making his millions here . A ringing endorsement of all his Rulers Policies

http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Vanhoosier/1627051101 James Vanhoosier

so you concede that the other 10 to 11 trillion of the deficit is on bush. really more than that. you are wrong about 43 previous . use % and bush is the big leader.
jnap

Mr. Stoll, So you think we should have government austerity when the economy sinks? If business quits hiring and government quits spending then how will the economy recover? If we don’t help people with unemployment benefits, food stamps and other social safety net programs how do you expect these folks to live when there are few jobs? Should they and their children live in the streets? Here in Orlando Florida we have some schools that report that in some classrooms 30% of the children are homeless and that 50% or more are eligible for free of reduced cost lunches. Does it sound, to you that cutting even these social programs would be a good idea? Obama inherited the recession which began in 2007. He took office in 2009 and the budget for 2010 would be the first for this president. But you do realize that the president doesn’t create the budget, the congress does? The stimulus package kept millions of people on extended unemployment benefits and most of the States from sinking into a black hole. It also provided 250 billion dollars for infrastructure spending which is still ongoing. The economy is slowly recovering and will take many more years to do so regardless of who is president. Romney has no magic bullet and just giving more money to the rich, which have more than enough already, is not going to help business recover. And business has more money in the bank than any other time in history. Only the middle class can do that and until they have jobs the economy is not going to fully recover. The answer is obvious, spend money on the infrastructure in this country which will create jobs for the middle class, fix the badly needed roads and bridges, and put money in the pockets of the middle class who will spend it helping business recover.

http://twitter.com/goozidi Goozidi Bepanagoozi

most of them got rich because they stole it, All filthy rich joooz through AIPAC mafia. Why we are sending Israel $8 million/day our tax money ?
Jerpell

It’s coming to these shores my friend…this clown in Washington is out of control!

DurdyDawg

Well I’m not even close to rich but paying more than 35% is too much in my books. I couldn’t imagine working for a million dollars and having to fork over seven-hundred and fifty thousand dollars to taxes. Totally not fair!

wildhobo

Why should Will Smith have been stupefied? Is there something morally wrong in having your income taxed at 75%? He most probably can live very comfortably with the 25% left over. He most probably would prefer continuing to be taxed at 75% than to stop earning the 100%. Surely, his income will allow him to hire professionals to help him reduce his taxes to less than 75%, an advantage, someone earning less than he may lack.

The concern some of us may have about a 75% marginal tax rate may be justified in that studies have shown that when taxes rise above the 75% rate, the wage earner tends to work less hard, a loss perhaps to society at large both interns of what the wage earner could have contributed to society by his work and in terms of the lesser tax society would receive from him. In a democracy, such as France, the birth place in modern times of democracy, Will Smith is not forced to work. He can reduce his workload by any percentage he fancies. If he prefers to earn the 100% but not pay 75% to France, he is at liberty to move to another country where his earnings may be taxed at less than 75% and who may welcome a 70% or less contributor to the economy of such country.

I find it odd a taxpayer should complain about his marginal tax rate, as long as such rate is applied to all persons in France with the same earnings as Smith, but choose to reap the benefits from living in France. Again, nobody forced his choice of domicile.

Is it inherently immoral for a 75% tax to be imposed on earnings? It may be oppressive but not immoral. It may be counterproductive, if it can be shown a 70% tax across the board would yield more revenue than a 75%. It may depend upon the use made of the tax revenue. If it is a desirable use, then surely, there is nothing immoral about it. If the country’s standards are honest and applied justly, then the main concern should be whether 75% will be enough to pay for maintaining such standards or some other figure will be enough. Not least among a country’s choice of a top marginal rate is the political impact it may have upon voters

Vazir Mukhtar

I suspect that Mr Smith does not follow French politics beyond knowing who is the president. His surprise at President Hollande’s proposal of a 75% top tax rate is thus quite natural.

I venture that Mr Smith could not tell his interviewer what President Sarkozy’s policy on the Roma (Gypsies) was.

Further, I venture that Mr Smith cannot name the nine justices on the US Supreme Court or give the names of all the various Secretaries — state, defense, treasury, etc.

It would be patently unreasonable to ask him to state the differences between the positions of Senator Levin and Senator Corker on the question of regulation of investment banks. (Hint: It has to do with Dodd-Frank.)

None of these hits him where it hurts, so why should he be concerned about them?

wildhobo

Ah, because he doesn’t really know where it hurts till it’s too late for him to do anything about it. Thanks for the comment anyway.
I do not quite see what you are angling for, comparing Corker (R) and Levin (D) on their respective positions on investment. Corker wants to invest in the military, I don’t think Levin is all that enthusiastic about that. I read that they are not members of any same Committee. They seem to agree on a number of issues, such as their criticism of NATO, but regulations on investment, which I happen to support usually, are more palatable to Levin than Corker, who, like most Republicans, seem to think that letting investors free to operate is best for the economy. Any business that big is quasi governmental but don’t want to admit it and prefer to act as if they were private. Well, in 2008, we’ve seen proof of where that preference leads the country and just recently again with JP Morgan Chase.

TomLayton

I care less about the tax rate than the fact that it is different for rich or poor. For me, everyone should pay the same rate no matter if the money comes from salaries, investments, inheritance or any source of income. Every US citizen should pay the same rate.
bruce barrett

bush spent money like a drunken sailor and drove the car into the ditch. obama spent money like a dozne drunken sailors and drove the car from the ditch , over the cliff. yes he spent money twice as fast. so who is at fault? well both stupid. it’s the economy
Thepiedpirate

Blame Al Gore; he invented the internet; “flattened the world” with information and made it possible for far-flung brainiacs to crush Americas small businesses.
http://www.facebook.com/kingfamily2000 RoseMary King

first, Will Smith didn’t react in horror!! Your words. Second, why wouldn’t he be surprised by an increase to 75% in France. Much ado about nothing.
http://www.facebook.com/kingfamily2000 RoseMary King

Hey Thepiedpirate, who borrowed what from whom to pay for 2 wars and a shitload of tax cuts????
Thepiedpirate

Hey Libs, no matter how many times the Greeks or French vote for a new Government – miracuosly their debt is still there. But you say “we don’t want it still there … that is why we vote this way” … Here is an idea, vote against gravity … vote as often as you want. And then show the seeds to jump out a window and see how well your voting worked for ya!! ha ha ha ha
http://www.facebook.com/sam.molletti Sam Molletti

I am certainly not critical of Will for his reaction to 75%… that is a bit excessive… but at least lets get the big earners paying the same as the common wage earner. Our tax code is a JOKE.
drummerb0y117

I’m all for highER taxes for the top 1% but 75% tax seems a bit like an over compensation, if you earn your money you should be able to have a fair amount of it without having more money than you know what to do with. Granted, Mr. Smith could have handled it better, but hes an actor, not an american politician. As funny as he is and as fun as it would be to have him on a show, his political views really aren’t all that important in the grand scheme of things
http://twitter.com/JenniferTSchult Jennifer T. Schultz

they dont want to raise it to 75% here. and the federal debt(different than deficit)was already very close to 10 trillion thanks to the last guy with two unpaid for wars, and a billion in tax cuts. if you vote for kim kardashian you are no better . hah. far as guy with facebook that is becasue he wants to hide his money. oh dont forget bachmann since she is a swiss citizen and her hubby got money from medicaid for “reparative therapy” lmao. doesnt work.
http://twitter.com/JenniferTSchult Jennifer T. Schultz

why how do you know? are you god?
http://twitter.com/JenniferTSchult Jennifer T. Schultz

how did brainiacs to crush small business? they arent job creators. those are the rich people. gop says that all the time. you probably mean regulations. which have never been less ever since rr de-regulated first as gov of calif then once he got in the wh.
http://twitter.com/JenniferTSchult Jennifer T. Schultz

no, flat tax is not right. why should someone who makes 9 dollars an hr pay 15% tax? or someone making 10 million a year pays 15% to send all jobs overseas because people here want to make a living wage.
http://twitter.com/JenniferTSchult Jennifer T. Schultz

the new president in france(where will smith is not a citizen of so that makes no difference really)wants to increase taxes to the rich, not the middle class. that is because sarcozy tried the austerity method for everyone EXCEPT THE RICH.
http://twitter.com/JenniferTSchult Jennifer T. Schultz

yes levin is for the frank-dodd law which actually has to have most of the rules written just as for banks since gop keeps stopping it from doing so. and yes, sarkozy kicked gypsies to the curb. how do you know he doesnt know about the administration. did you ask him? or are you god?
Titan G

Long over due tell the political people to pay their fair share also they keep taking from us .
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3EZLD65ZW2HPC5KWHR5BB5XITE Blue

Loved to have seen his face when he found out just what socialism means…not too hot with millionaires and billionaires! I bet he ran right back to Hollywood and his tax havens with Mitt.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3EZLD65ZW2HPC5KWHR5BB5XITE Blue

Whatever LOLA wants, LOLA gets.
Pat Brown

I want the rich to pay their share, but 75% seems over the top. I would rather see the tax loopholes closed and tax them up to 50%. But as long as those loopholes are there it own’t matter what tax you put on them, they’ll find a way around it.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1133961144 Denise Pulczinski Simandl

Wow! It is just amazing how blind the american people are. On both sides of the aisle. The wealthy have turned this in to the Libs against the Reps. This should be about the people against the 1%. Think about it. Everyone is against the Libs and unions because they are over paid. Well, gas has gone up tremendously in the last two years. That has affected the cost of everything. Has your salary gone up in response to that? Then people are against the Reps because they are out to bust unions and give tax breaks to the wealthy. Me personally, Neither side is worth a @#$@!!!! Neither side is representing who they were elected by! Ross Perot, WHERE ARE YOU???
http://www.facebook.com/people/Daniel-Lavigne/100003001156534 Daniel Lavigne

‘The Tax Refusal’ comes to mind.

Indeed, if the majority had spine and integrity sufficient to act in accordance with their lawful duty to refuse to support any society that is party to plans and preparations to USE nuclear and / or other weapons of mass murder, it is entirely possible that we would be able to develop “A Brave New World”.
Sarah K. Weinberg

In the U.S. we once had a top bracket of 90%. I think it was in the late 50s and early 60s, to pay off our debt from WWII. Remember that people with incomes in the top bracket didn’t pay 90% tax on ALL their income, just on the portion above the bracket cutoff. The same would be true of a 75% bracket in France for folks with incomes above 1 million euros. I submit that anyone who earns more than a million euros in one year can afford to part with 75% of the excess for the social goods of providing health care for everyone, decent retirement pensions for everyone, unemployment insurance for all the unemployed, generous parental leave following childbirth, etc. If a person can’t maintain his/her Mediterranean villa and yacht on 999,999 euros per year, he/she needs to learn how to budget better!
unclebarry

But even at 75% the Hollywood elite would still be unaffected.
http://profile.yahoo.com/WDLH65H33TTR6ERPHLWVFYKG3I Danny

That title is misleading. Heck, I don’t blame anyone who is horrified at the thought of having to pay 75 percent of their income in taxes, but I do feel that those who are highearners should pay their FAIR share of taxes. They have the means to enjoy the best that their nations have to offer so why not pay taxes and help make things better. That goes for corporations too.
dctrdeath

Bush was one of the worst presidents we ever had. After the 911 terrorist attacks he gets us involved in an illegal war with Iraq with claims of weapons of mass destruction and it will be a war on terrorists. First our intelligence couldn’t find any evidence of weapons of mass destruction and Bush knew this. Second Iraq had no ties to al-Qaeda. If fact al-Qaeda was outlawed in Iraq. Hussean feared they would over throw him. Plus Iraq was a counter balance to Iran in the region. Iraq and Iran had been at war with each other for years. But depite all of this Bush decides to go to war with Iraq. He figured it would be a quick and easy victory and it would make him look good. Plus after the quick war he would make sure his cronies would get fat contracts to rebuild Iraq. Reality is it took us over 10 years to catch Osama Bin Laden and at the cost of thousands of innocent lives. Now Iran is the power in the region again with no one to to really stop them. How long before we will have to go to war with Iran? On top of all of this Bush favored the top 1% with his tax breaks for the rich and never cared about the poor or the middle class at all. Worst President in my life time. (65 years).

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jack-Whelchel/100000458023194 Jack Whelchel

Obama IS the worst President we have ever had.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=618006164 Folat Sunday Mabamisoro

what is wrong in asking those who got tax break in the last decade to share in the sacrifice of helping America get back on its feet. in the last decade, they made more money while the rest of the nation got poorer.
http://profile.yahoo.com/4NQBSNS27UKIHJHYGGN765ADRA Joseph Anthony

When Will Smith was a young rapper appearing on MTV and in series Prince of BA, he seemed a sincere, good nature man. Back then, he was one of my favorite performers. However, Mr. Smith have changed over the years. To me seems that is somewhat more arrogant and self centered.

While I could have accepted those characteristics when he was a young man, I they do not fit a mature person. recently, I learned that he does not like to pay taxes for one reason or another. Now, on the French Television video, he seems to claim that he should not pay taxes because he is black and was poor with not college degree.

Mr. Smith comments sound preposterous. He is fame and fortune comes from a segment of the American population that is not on the top financial levels and that pay taxes.

Now, the video here is a bit inaudible. However, if I have interpreted Mr. Smith comments correctly, I do not think that I will pay the price of a movie ticket to see him again.

http://profile.yahoo.com/XWNK5E33OIFUMQVAGQQA7GDM2M Bigspender

WHich roman emperor was blond and had blue eyes?

http://www.facebook.com/geronimo.schmidt Geronimo Schmidt

I believe that taxes must be raised as well as spending controlled, but 75% taxes even on the very rich is INSANE. Money and income would move out of the country implementing those taxes, no matter how patriotic you are.
As I have lived in the US for over 40 years, I have noticed that Government is not a good steward of resources and is wasteful in EVERYTHING it does
Remove most tax loopholes, increase income/capital gains taxes in a progressive manner (but no higher than 50% on the VERYYYYY rich)….and let us make sure our money is not wasted in programs that are neccessary but badly managed (Medicare, Medicaid, SSI, Defense and so on)
jrigney340

Nobody here in the US (in their right minds, anyway) is advocating 75%, or anything even remotely like it. Let’s just get us back to the Clinton Era. The tax rate then was not 75% or anything even remotely like it

Louie75

Well, said. Although I do think the tax rate on those high incomes should be around 40% to 50% it has been proven that moving the tax rates for the wealthy back to Clinton era levels will solve the mess our government is in now. Oh, yes, and drastically reducing our over-bloated military budget by just a quarter will push us back into a surplus (and giving a boost to NASA). We don’t get a return investment on another bunch of missiles we don’t need. Dwight D. Eisenhower, a great REPUBLICAN (not a neo-con) once argued about the insanity of the military industrial complex in his Cross of Iron speech and he was a former GENERAL!

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_2RU3AFF6C5WYRJN5Z6AEFKAW5U Jon

We Americans make these people rich actors and tv personalities. so why complain this is what you get. And how do they put back in to the system by buying bigger boats, houses and planes. Oh and cell phone providers and cable they probably make the most. Here what we should do cancel our cell phones and cable etc. when we can have $10 with date and talk for our cel phone then we can go back to them. Cable should be no more than $15 or less. Dont let these companies push you around we didnt need it in the 60′s we dont need it now trust me we stick together and we can make it happen. ex these cell phone providers are making a killing somewehere like trillions of dollars per year do the math. BY MDA

DurdyDawg

Jon, you have an excellent program to make the big guys twitch an ear but unfortunately you speak to the deaf.. People love to gripe, not sacrifice. I’m with you however as I have a basic phone with no bells or whistles that I pay on average $10.00 month (yes, they are out there, just shop around). It feels good to know I’m getting a reasonable deal from the big boys but the blunt of Americansw believe they can’t exist without those whistles and bells possibly due to the come-on in cellphone commercials, maybe because they desire to always have more minutes than they can use which in turn causes then to use more thus seek even more.. And who needs to communicate on a cell phone internet? Do they ALL think their that important?? How easy the manipulation .. Pity.

terrisl

The people reading this have no idea what it’s like to have 25% of what Will Smith earns in a single month
addie81

People should pay thier taxes no matter if you are rich or poor, but you cannot have one set paying what they want to pay and the rest paying what they are asked to. We all know why we have this controversy , the gop is just fighting the president for all the good he is trying to do for this country. WHAT A SHAME it is painful to see grown educated men in the gop act so illiterate , stupid and arrogant.
Louie75

It’s not a white thing, and it’s not a black thing. Taxing income up to 75% on the wealthy is them giving back more of The Commons that they use. How is Will Smith, an actor, taking advantage of The Commons? It’s simple. His movies air in movie theaters all over the country. Who drives on government paid roads to go to the movie theaters to plunk down 7-12 bucks for a movie ticket? We do. He, and the studios that he works for, rely upon the average consumer to watch their crap (for the most, it is). The studios use public spaces to film on location, most of which….paid for by The Commons. MIB III was filmed in NYC and required closing down public streets so it can be filmed. It also enjoyed tax breaks that New York and NYC dished out. Paying a greater share back to The Commons, Will, is not being unfair. You have benefited from them more than us “common folk”.

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