Do people on welfare pay tax?

[lockedout]

all people pay tax its called VAT

Some people live in America.

[oblivionx]

I had a discussion with a FB friend today about welfare and, he seems to think that he does pay tax, while i don't really see it so.
The money they recieve comes from tax, and while they pay tax out of the tax money they recieve, I can't see it as the same as someone who works and pays tax out of their paycheck.

Am i seeing this wrong and what is your opinion about it?

Generally the part of welfare (the lion's share of it) that is being funded by the Federal government is never reimbursed through any taxation, the state the person is in is.

[araine]

Of course they pay taxes. and lots of it as well. It has been proven more than once that poor people pay taxes and fee's that are at a much higher rate of the income than Romney pays.

[WinniPriest]

The threshold on personal income tax in the state I live in is $12,600.00 for a family of four.
The federal poverty line for a family of four is $23,050.00.
I do not know about cash TANF benefits (which is what is commonly called welfare) but there are people living in their cars, people on disability, and people in otherwise dire circumstances who pay state income tax here.
The sales tax here is close to 9% (half federal and half local).
Then there are car tags, licenses, motel/hotel stays (not like the hilton, I mean the day laborers that stay in a microtel that charges weekly rats because they cannot afford a deposit and month's rent for an apartment.), property taxes if you own a home...etc.
In addition anyone who puts gas in their vehicle pays a form of federal tax.

So yes, people who receive government financial assistance of many kinds also pay many kinds of tax.

[Angella]

Sort of. About 20% of the US population pays no *net tax,* which is to say that the total tax bill is something less than $0. A lot more people are on welfare though than that 20%.

---------- Post added 2013-06-22 at 06:16 AM ----------

Of course they pay taxes. and lots of it as well. It has been proven more than once that poor people pay taxes and fee's that are at a much higher rate of the income than Romney pays.

Depends on the definition of poor. Plenty of poor people pay less tax than Romney. FYI politicians - Democrats and Republicans - often lie. It's worth doing your own research.

[Sunseeker]

Your argument is: If you get more from the government than you pay in, it amounts to paying nothing at all. That's the arguments Romney and the Republicans started throwing around last election.

Everyone pays taxes, fees, and other sorts of monies into the government. Some people just pay less than the government gives them. That's not the same as not paying at all.

[Huntingbear_grimbatol]

I had a discussion with a FB friend today about welfare and, he seems to think that he does pay tax, while i don't really see it so.
The money they recieve comes from tax, and while they pay tax out of the tax money they recieve, I can't see it as the same as someone who works and pays tax out of their paycheck.

Am i seeing this wrong and what is your opinion about it?

I've been on welfare for 2 years now (bad knee injury, 3 surgeries and a lot of physiotherapy and now back to school) before that I worked 5 years without as much as a day sick. As far as I'm concerned I payed tax the 5 past years and now I'm getting some back from it, I didn't plan on 2-3 years of living on welfare money (it's not a lot) and I really want to get back to a full time job again as soon as I can.

If you think it's lucrative to live of welfare you're wrong, I had to move back to my parents, sell my car and I haven't had a single vacation trip or bought anything I really wanted the past 2 years. Welfare is there just to get you by and with the apartment prices in my country as they are I had no choice but to move back to my parents, so there... welfare isn't fun or something I want anyone to end up living with.