The Occupy Wall Street movement seems to have supporters setting new sights on scooping up a greater percentage of cash from the biggest income generators in Hollywood. The most famous of the Kardashian sisters, Kim Kardashian, has been singled out as one high-profile celebrity who ought to be contributing more of her capital gains back to help others in need. Since she earned more than $19 million off her suspected fake wedding in 2011, people are asking her to pony up the cash (rather than keeping it by using the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy).
As if Kim Kardashian didn’t have enough trouble last year — her 72 day marriage with Kris Humphries, and being slammed by PETA for wearing real fur — the famous celebrity socialite is under attack by a brand new group, and this time they want her money. Income tax money, specifically. The Courage Campaign, in California, is lobbying for a higher tax on millionaires in the state, and they’ve cherry picked Kim Kardashian as the poster child for their movement, reports E! Online. Not only is she prettier than 99% of the people in the United States, she is also one of the infamous 1% talked about by the Occupy Wall Street movement.
A video ad produced by the group claims that Kim K made $12 million in 2010 (before her big 2011 payday from the Kris Humphries reality TV wedding). Yet most Americans would be surprised to learn she was taxed only 1 percent less than the average California taxpayer — who makes about $47,000 a year and pays 9.3 percent in taxes.
The controversial new ad claims that Kim K should pay her fair share, as if she’s not already paying more than others, or that she doesn’t do quite a bit of charity work as well with that money. But, to that end, the organization proposes raising taxes on millionaires. Multimillionaires like Kardashian (who was rumored to be worth over $35 million before she earned another $19 million on her wedding) are the groups prime targets — most likely because like her, they have been so obnoxious about flaunting what can only be described as their flamboyant lifestyles and copious… assets.
The video is part of the campaign proposing a November ballot initiative that would raise taxes on the state’s wealthiest citizens by 3 to 5 percent, thus generating an estimated $6 billion that would go toward public schools and other hard-hit local services.
But famous socialite Kim Kardashian isn’t the only one complaining. Most Hollywood star celebs would rather keep what they’ve earned. Who wouldn’t? However, there is a notable exception. Famous green celebrity actor and political activist Rob Reiner, who supports programs like Alliance for Climate Protection and American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, says he’s a-okay with paying more taxes. In fact, the star celeb is highly supportive.
The Washington Post reported:
“I talked to Rob Reiner; he was very excited about paying more taxes,” the governor quipped last week. A spokesman for Reiner was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
The group’s website, a jab at Kim herself, is TaxKimK.com, and the man behind it, Rick Jacobs, said a 5 percent tax hike on Kim Kardashian would still leave her with about $10 million a year, said ABC. The Kardashian clan is said to have made about $65 million in 2011. Sure, that’s plenty of money for anyone to live on, but is it fair? Jacobs seems to think so.
“We are not judging Miss Kardashian, we are just making a very simple point,” Rick Jacobs, the chair and founder of Courage Campaign, told ABC News. “It isn’t fair or appropriate for someone who makes that kind of money to pay the essentially the same tax rate as someone who makes $47,000 a year. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian just emptied her closest for the New Year. She’s auctioning the clothes on eBay and will be donating proceeds to the Dream Foundation, an organization which attempts to improve the quality of life for people stricken with terminal illness. Hopefully, she will also get around to donating some of the rumored $600K she earned for just showing up to her own New Years Eve party at Tao in Las Vegas. Somehow, when you routinely make big paydays like that, cleaning out your clothes closet and ditching out of date trendy designer duds seems a little paltry.
Should a star celeb like Kim Kardashian pay more in taxes just because she makes more money per year than 99% of all Americans? Or is a flat tax percentage a fair percentage, no matter the cut? Does she give enough money away to charity, or should she give more? Tell us what you think!