I just finished doing my taxes for last year and despite having a taxable income of only $25,000, I am not eligible for one of the upcoming $600 tax rebates. I guess that makes me officially rich.
Don't get me wrong, I am really glad that the government is giving people who pay little or no taxes a rebate in a few months. It's just that I never really though I was wealthy. Of course under Bush, the middle class has more or less been destroyed so maybe we are now officially a nation of just rich and poor and I guess I qualify as the bottom rung of the rich category.
I actually grossed $99,000 last year but I have a condo I have been trying to sell for two years so I am carrying double mortagages and taxes. This is hard on the pocketbook but good for deductions. Anyway, by the time I took all of my deductions, my taxable income dropped to $25,000. So I had $25,000 in discretionary income and I still don't qualify for a $600 tax rebate in May. My only solace is that in Bush's America I now officially qualify as rich.