Who pays for most of the collected federal income taxes

[Smurf-Herder]

Higher income earners pay the most, Treasury says

Feeling overtaxed? Under the U.S. income tax system, most of the taxes collected are supposed to be paid by the people who make the most money. Thanks to President Bush's tax cuts, that is exactly the way the system works, says the U.S. Treasury Department.

According to the Office of Tax Analysis, the U.S. individual income tax is "highly progressive," with a small group of higher-income taxpayers paying most of the individual income taxes each year.


In 2002 the latest year of available data, the top 5 percent of taxpayers paid more than one-half (53.8 percent) of all individual income taxes, but reported roughly one-third (30.6 percent) of income.

The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 33.7 percent of all individual income taxes in 2002. This group of taxpayers has paid more than 30 percent of individual income taxes since 1995. Moreover, since 1990 this group’s tax share has grown faster than their income share.

Taxpayers who rank in the top 50 percent of taxpayers by income pay virtually all individual income taxes. In all years since 1990, taxpayers in this group have paid over 94 percent of all individual income taxes. In 2000, 2001, and 2002, this group paid over 96 percent of the total.

Treasury Department analysts credit President Bush's tax cuts with shifting a larger share of the individual income taxes paid to higher income taxpayers. In 2005, says the Treasury, when most of the tax cut provisions are fully in effect (e.g., lower tax rates, the $1,000 child credit, marriage penalty relief), the projected tax share for lower-income taxpayers will fall, while the tax share for higher-income taxpayers will rise.


The share of taxes paid by the bottom 50 percent of taxpayers will fall from 4.1 percent to 3.6 percent.

The share of taxes paid by the top 1 percent of taxpayers will rise from 32.3 percent to 33.7 percent.

The average tax rate for the bottom 50 percent of taxpayers falls by 27 percent as compared to a 13 percent decline for taxpayers in the top 1 percent.

The White House has announced it will lobby Congress to pass legislation making most of President Bush's tax cutting measures permanent.

Source: U.S. Treasury, Office of Tax Analysis

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/incometaxandtheirs/a/whopaysmost.htm

[Smurf-Herder]

I'll be referring to this, everytime some dufuss screams about the rich being undertaxed and tax cuts for the rich.

[kres24GT]

It really doesn't matter what we tax the rich. Tax them a lot, they will pass it on to us. Tax them a little, they still pass it on to us. As long as Reps and Dems are in power government will always favor the wealthy. It can be spun to appear if we are trying to hurt them, but its smoke and mirrors. The wealthy keep the politicians in power, it's common sense they will always change the laws to benefit them.

[radioguy]

It really doesn't matter what we tax the rich. Tax them a lot, they will pass it on to us. Tax them a little, they still pass it on to us. As long as Reps and Dems are in power government will always favor the wealthy. It can be spun to appear if we are trying to hurt them, but its smoke and mirrors. The wealthy keep the politicians in power, it's common sense they will always change the laws to benefit them.

Did you read what smurf posted?

The rich are the ones who carry the overwelming majority of the tax burden in this country and instead of commenting on the FACTS, you chose to spin it into something else. Geeeez

[Smurf-Herder]

They can't acknowledge facts that dispute long-standing arguments that are based on class hatred.

[kres24GT]

Did you read what smurf posted?

The rich are the ones who carry the overwelming majority of the tax burden in this country and instead of commenting on the FACTS, you chose to spin it into something else. Geeeez


Not at all, you don't understand how the rich pass their tax liability on to us. In the end we pay. If you pay my tax liability for me, what was my tax liability really?

Raising taxes on the rich is just a politcal tool, class warfare. In the end we all pay. We need to cut spending and lower all taxes.

[Smurf-Herder]

Not at all, you don't understand how the rich pass their tax liability on to us. In the end we pay. If you pay my tax liability for me, what was my tax liability really?

Raising taxes on the rich is just a politcal tool, class warfare. In the end we all pay. We need to cut spending and lower all taxes.

In other ways, yes. But this was specifically concerning Income taxes collected. You can't pass on Income Taxes; only corporate taxes.

I agree. We need to cut spending and lower all taxes.

[kres24GT]

In other ways, yes. But this was specifically concerning Income taxes collected. You can't pass on Income Taxes; only corporate taxes.

I agree. We need to cut spending and lower all taxes.


If you own a business, sure you can. Most wealthy people own businesses. If am wealthy and my taxes go up, I fire my gardener or my maid. I raise my pay at my company which leads to higher prices. Plenty of ways to do it.


The wealthy own the politcians, they will always be able to make their money. Anything done to "punish the rich" is just smoke and mirrors designed to pander to voters who have wealth envy.

[Smurf-Herder]

If you own a business, sure you can. Most wealthy people own businesses. If am wealthy and my taxes go up, I fire my gardener or my maid. I raise my pay at my company which leads to higher prices. Plenty of ways to do it.


The wealthy own the politcians, they will always be able to make their money. Anything done to "punish the rich" is just smoke and mirrors designed to pander to voters who have wealth envy.

Yes, I see your point. I wasn't going into the small business end of it.

But we're in agreement on this. Raising taxes hurts everyone and only panders to those who hate the rich. Lower taxes helps create the environment that results in investment, expansion and job creation; and in turn a greater base of tax revenue.

[asroc]

it's real simple:

the tax rate, whatever it is (let's say 33% for this hypothetical), has a monumentally larger impact on somebody in the middle to lower class than it does to the highest 5%

ask somebody making $20k/year whom he/she thinks is carrying the burden

[Smurf-Herder]

it's real simple:

the tax rate, whatever it is (let's say 33% for this hypothetical), has a monumentally larger impact on somebody in the middle to lower class than it does to the highest 5%

ask somebody making $20k/year whom he/she thinks is carrying the burden

But somebody making $20 is in a substantially lower tax bracket than "the rich".

BTW, I made $23k last year. And I think they have a higher tax burden than I do. But however you feel about it, the figures are still the figures.

[bairdi]

I'll be referring to this, everytime some dufuss screams about the rich being undertaxed and tax cuts for the rich.
That article in no way has any bearing on determining whether the rich are undertaxed or not. It does not address the benefits derived by the wealthy through the use of tax dollars. Unless a cost/benefit analysis is done, one cannot argue that the wealthy are either over or under taxed.

The one thing that can be determined from that article though, is that the wealthy made out like bandits from the tax cut. The article projected that by 2005, "The share of taxes paid by the top 1 percent of taxpayers will rise from 32.3 percent to 33.7 percent."

In actuality, the share of taxes paid by the top 1 percent went from 32.3 percent to 39.3 percent. Their adjusted gross income went from $285,424 in 2002 to $364,657 in 2005, an average increase of 27.7%. The bottom 50% however, under the tax cuts, had an adjusted gross income that went from less than $28,654 in 2002 to less than $30,881 in 2005, an increase of 7.7%.
http://www.ntu.org/main/page.php?PageID=6

Personally, I do not think that it would be too hard to build a case that the wealthiest among us have profited the most by the use of tax dollars. There is nothing wrong with a progressive tax. Those that profit the most should pay the most.

[kres24GT]

Yes, I see your point. I wasn't going into the small business end of it.

But we're in agreement on this. Raising taxes hurts everyone and only panders to those who hate the rich. Lower taxes helps create the environment that results in investment, expansion and job creation; and in turn a greater base of tax revenue.
Unfortunately the American people have overwhelmingly decide they want Big Government, someone has to pay for it. As long as the Republicans and Democrats are in power government will continue to grow and need more of our money.