part of my colleagues, i am a firm believer in the robin hood syndrome. let's take from the rich and give to the poor. i don't get it. it is like a governmental slush fund. i am on board with you, don't get me wrong. i am one of those curious people. where did all this money go? guest: a lot of the money went to first-time homebuyers. a lot of the money goes to iraq and afghanistan, unfortunately. i am sure there are a lot of ways and the federal government -- it is interesting, i was on a program in new york city yesterday. the host asked me, is it true that a family of four making a $50,000 in this country would pay no federal income tax? i said that does not seem right

to me. i went home and figured out that is actually very possible. a lot of americans -- your robin hood theory, pay no income taxes. if you look at a family of four, by the time you subtract the standard deduction, child credits worth $1,000 apiece for each child, $800 for the making work pay credit, you can in that owing no income tax. if you look at the percentage the xipe over the years, the rich people pay a lot more. there is a huge bite in congress saying the texas go to the rich people. you can plug in your a.g.i. and we can tell you your status as a

taxpayer. the top 5% of taxpayers that make a 30% of all income -- they make 30% of the income but pay 55% of the texas. the bottom of all tax payers -- 55% of the taxes. nobody is happy about paying taxes. these tax breaks go to a lot of those people who are not paying as much. host: next. caller: how would a couple that is married file jointly and still split the income tax ? guest: you cannot split the income when you file jointly.

you have to look at the way tax rate schedules work. the 10% bracket on a single return is only half as high on a joint return. a husband and wife earning the same amount will be taxed the same rate. that is how the tax system is built. after the 25% bracket, it changes. more married couples get a marriage tax bonus then suffer from a marriage tax penalty. the vast majority of married people, the head by filing joint returns. host: west virginia. caller: i went like to ask you a question first. host: go ahead.

caller: can you consider having one person on since this coal mining disaster has occurred. that is right in my backyard. i like to hear his perspective on what is going on. he is right there in washington, d.c. i had a couple of questions for kevin. i am 58. this year i can take money out of my traditional ira. is that correct? can i role that over to a roth ira and then i am responsible for the tax on that? i have an illness that requires

me to buy air purifiers that are quite expensive. can i claim those on my tax as a medical expense? guest: air purifiers like that is considered a medical expense. you have to have to itemize deductions for that. and they must exceed 7.5% of your a.g.i. in a few years, that will go up to 10%. if the total exceeds 7.5 senna of your income, then you can deduct medical expenses -- % of your income, then you can deduct medical expenses. there is no penalty if you roll money from one ira to another.

the big thing that has happened with roth conversions is prior to 2010 if the income was over $100,000 they were prohibited from making a conversion. anybody can convert. if you move $50,000 from traditional to roth, future withdrawals from the roth would be tax-free. you have to pay tax on that $50,000 right now. that would be added to your income regarding the medical to adduction -- the dutch and raising 7.5% threshold. -- deduction, raising the 7.5% threshold. several states give their

residents' tax deductions if they contribute to their own state, but there are still federal taxes. host: one question on twitter has questions about time limits? guest: there are refunds from last year the people cannot collect because they did not file. you have to file within three years of the original due date. if it was able 152009, you have until 2012. -- if it was april 15, 2009, you have until 2012. host: is available on the irs system? guest: yes, that is great about computers. the biggest problem is finding the w-2 and the information.

host: hagerstown, maryland. caller: my mother-in-law and father-in-law, last may they received five letters notifying them that a number of tax years had not been filed. we have been trying to investigate it. i have contacted the irs. they said there are back refunds due. but if you do not file within three years, they keep the money. why don't they come after you? if we owe you money, we do not notify you. they wait for the return to be filed.

what tax year do i have to file by four back tax years? and my in-laws are considering giving one of their houses, signing it over to one of their children. what are the tax consequences for them or for one of the children who gets the house? guest:2006 return was due 2007. '06 is as far as you can go. you have to file by next week. each one can get $13,000 a year. if they are going to give a house to you and your wife, that is $52,000 that the dalia of the house can be transferred to you tax free. anything above that, they would

have to file a gift tax. above $13,000 a year, everybody gets $1 million of the gift tax. if the parents die why thehile e only house -- if they pay $50,000 and it is worth to under $50,000 and the child inherits its, there would be no tax on the $150,000. if it is a gift given while they are still alive, the $150,000 could be taxed. it gets tricky. you have to think about those things with a gift like this

late in life. the key thing is to be careful, not to be scared. if you have not filed, you should. most people have a refund coming. refunds drive me crazy. the average american will get $3,000 back. they took that amount out of their paychecks then they should. what is your agi and how big is your refund? more allowances should you be claiming to get your moneyr >> tomorrow on "washington journal," a look and what to expect when congress returns from easter.

following that, at international atomic energy agency department of nuclear safety and security director anita nilsson. also, a discussion on employing returning veterans with the hierarchy roche usa director. that is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. but yesterday, supreme court justice john paul stevens announced he will retire at the end of this year's term. today on american and the courts, and look at the life and career of justice stevens. he talked about his 35 years on the high court after being nominated by president ford in 1975. america and the courts airs at 7:05 eastern on c-span. tonight, first lady michelle obama meets with students at the white house to talk about preventing childhood obesity.

she is joined by c-span student camp winter matthew shimura. the first lady talked about eating healthy and reading food labels as she answered stevens questions. see it tonight at 9 eastern on c-span. >> this week, a three judge panel from a federal appeals court unanimously decided that the federal communications commission does not have the authority to regulate high-speed internet. on this edition of "book t"the communicators" we will talk with several guests. we'll talk with the ranking member of the house energy and commerce committee that holds jurisdiction over telecommunications matters. representative barton, were you surprised by this decision? >> no, i was not surprised.

i am very pleased by it. i think the court did exactly what the law says. the sec does not have the authority under current law to regulate the internet. >> does that move the issue of net neutrality back to congress? >> if it needs to be moved, i would hope that chairman waxman and the subcommittee chairman and the house would let a sleeping dog lie and not go forward. the court ruling was 3-0. experts in the law, more knowledgeable than i, have indicated that they do not believe it can be overturned on appeal to the supreme court. i am absolutely certain that if they do try to do something legislatively, there will be a lot of conservatives like myself that would