Let's Drug Test The Rich Before Approving Tax Deductions, Says US Congresswoman (theguardian.com)

Press2ToContinue writes from a report via The Guardian: "The [tax] benefits we give to poor people are so limited compared to what we give to the top 1% [of taxpayers]," Congresswoman Gwen Moore says. "It's a drop in the bucket." Many states implement drug-testing programs to qualify for benefit programs so that states feel they are not wasting the value they dole out. However, seven states who implemented drug testing for tax benefit program recipients spent $1 million on drug testing from the inception of their programs through 2014. But the average rate of drug use among those recipients has been far below the national average -- around 1% overall, compared with 9.4% in the general population -- meaning there's been little cost savings from the drug testing program. Why? "Probably because they can't afford it," says Moore. "We might really save some money by drug-testing folks on Wall Street, who might have a little cocaine before they get their deal done," she said, and proposes a bill requiring tests for returns with itemized deductions of more than $150,000. "We spend $81bn on everything -- everything -- that you could consider a poverty program," she explained. But just by taxing capital gains at a lower rate than other income, a bit of the tax code far more likely to benefit the rich than the poor, "that's a $93bn expenditure. Just capital gains," she added. Why not drug-test the rich to ensure they won't waste their tax benefits? She is "sick and tired of the criminalization of poverty." And, she added: "We're not going to get rid of the federal deficit by cutting poor people off Snap. But if we are going to drug-test people to reduce the deficit, let's start on the other end of the income spectrum."

Comments

Re: WTF?

[XXongo]

What this woman suggests is akin to saying that they should drug test me in order to make me eligible to pay taxes, because you know, the money I'm giving to the government may be dirty money.

No.

She points out that what we commonly call "tax deductions" are actually expenditures-- the person filing the "deductions" is essentially spending government funds. Since politicians think it's worthwhile to drug-test poor people upon whom the government expends money, why not drug test rich people upon whom the government expends money? If you file deductions, prove you're not spending that refund money-- which comes out of the government's income-- on drugs.