This page was last updated on May 23, 2013.
Special thanks; Dan Cogley; Beaver County Times; May 17, 2013.
Previous Cogley letters I critiqued were “Republicans slowing economy,” “What do they want?,” “Keep guns out of schools,” “Pennsylvania not proud,” “Poor people do create jobs,” “Government should not invade private lives,” “Why vote Republican,” “We need more Democrats,” “Try trickle-up effect,” “Elderly will be hit under GOP policies,” “Let politicians try unemployment,” and “Cuban missile déjà vu.” My personal favorite was “Why vote Republican.” Cogley letters I didn’t critique include “Question in need of an answer” (4/7/11) and “Suggested cuts they won’t make” (3/14/11).
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“A special thanks to our governor and our state representatives for giving the oil and gas companies all the breaks they can, then sticking it to the public by raising the gas tax to fix the roads.”
[RWC] I don’t have data specific to “oil and gas companies,” but the Tax Foundation reports PA’s “Corporate Tax Rank” for 2013 is 46 (one is best, 50 worst).
One way or another, business taxes are paid by individuals - customers, employees, and owners. According to the Tax Foundation, the average U.S. taxpayer worked eight days in 2002 to pay federal income taxes levied on corporations. In addition, we worked a fraction of a day to pay other business taxes. Business taxes are approximately seven percent of our total personal tax burden. That is, seven out of 100 tax dollars we pay are business taxes. Unfortunately, a lot of people like Mr. Cogley don’t know this fact or choose to ignore it.
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