You said “In 2008…the 1,195 Vermont households whose taxable income was more than $500,000 (400 of them more than a million) paid $95,417,651 in “net Vermont taxes.” That’s an average of almost $80,000 each, and was almost 20 percent of all the income taxes the state collected (they earned about ten percent of the income). That’s a heap o’ taxes.”

Sounds like a lot. But note that on average the taxes paid by this group represented 5.3% of their income. Doesn’t sound so bad now does it? Moreover, while this group has about 10% of all income, we should ask how much of total wealth they have (not reported by the state).

You also said (paraphrasing the Chamber crowd) that “If taxes on these folks weren’t so high…They’d invest. They’d start businesses. So there would be more jobs, meaning more income for middle-income and working people.”

Some of the top earners create jobs in VT; many do not. For the wealthiest Vermonters, their income is heavy with capital gains, interest, and dividends. This type of income comes from investments, not local businesses. At that level, their investments (like all large portfolios) are in stocks & bonds that have no impact on VT jobs. Indeed, investments in many Fortune 500 firms leads directly to some jobs being sent overseas. This is another area where the facts get lost in the shuffle.