[PDF]Believe It Or Not The Richest Americans Pay Most Of The Federal Bills

9/24/21, 9:02 AM Believe it or Not The Richest Americans Pay Most of the Federal Bills


howmuch Believe It or Not - the Richest Americans DO Pay Most of © © (in)
the Federal Income Tax


Visualizations Believe It or Not - the Richest Americans DO Pay Most of the Federal Income Tax


Believe It or Not - the Richest Americans DO Pay
Most of the Federal Income Tax


Thank God for the 1%. That much-maligned minority, the richest percent of
Americans, pay 39.5% of all Federal Income Tax. That is one of the most
eye-catching figures in a study_released by the Tax Foundation earlier this
month. To put that percentage in absolute figures: the richest percent of
American taxpayers pay in $542.64 billion of a total take of Federal Income
Tax of $1.37 trillion.


High-Income Americans Pay the Majority of Federal Taxes


Bottom 50%
Pays 2.80% of Taxes










The Top 50%
Pays 10.5% of Taxes


The Top 10%
Pays 10.9% of Taxes


The Top 25%
Pays 15.9% of Taxes


The Top 1%
Pays 39.5% of Taxes


Each income group excludes the previous one


Sources:


Taxfoundation.org M h -net
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9/24/21, 9:02 AM Believe it or Not The Richest Americans Pay Most of the Federal Bills


howmuch Believe It or Not - the Richest Americans DO Pay Most of ©) © (in)
the Federal Income Tax


e It is almost double as much as the next bracket of top incomes: those
earning the 2% to 5% of the highest wages in America pay 20.5% of all
Federal Income Tax. Or in absolute terms: $281.51 billion.


e It is also almost four times as much as those whose incomes range from
the top 6% to 10%. They pay 10.9% of Federal Income Tax, or $149.97
billion.


e Those who earn between the top 10% to 25% of wages in America are a
much larger group; yet their collective input into the Federal Income Tax
is only half as much again as the previous band: 15.9% (i.e. $281.55
billion).


e Those with an income anywhere between the top 25% and 50% only pay
10.5% of all Federal Income Tax, no more than $143.95 billion.


e The entire bottom half of wage earners pays only 2.8% of its income in
taxes into the federal coffers. In actual money terms: $37.74 billion. That
is more than 14 times less than the top 1%, even though this group is 50
times as numerous.


These figures show the level of contribution to total income tax revenues by
the various income levels. The Tax Foundation also provided figures for what
that means for individual taxpayers in each group.


e For the richest 1%, the effective average tax rate is 27.2%, meaning that
well over a quarter of their income goes into federal coffers.


e For the next group (up to 5%), the fiscal pressure is just below a quarter:
23.6%.


e Taxpayers with incomes in the top 10% part with just over one-fifth
(21.3%) of their earnings.


e Those in the top 25% bracket contribute 17.8% of their annual income.


e Even those up to the 50th percentile on average still give 15.5% of their
annual income to Uncle Sam.


Federal Income Tax, the average percentage for the bottom half of
incomes is dramatically lower — the average Federal Income tax level for
this group is just 3.5%.


Nobody likes paying taxes, and all taxpayers agree that everyone who
contributes to the national purse should have some say in how the
government raises and spends its money. But in this debate, whose voice
should be louder: that of the majority at the bottom of the income scale (who


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9/24/21, 9:02 AM Believe it or Not The Richest Americans Pay Most of the Federal Bills


howmuch Believe It or Not - the Richest Americans DO Pay Most of
the Federal Income Tax


Capitulo Uvistiverary LINDOU VUL J.e


Sources: Taxfoundation.org


About the article
Published: 27 March 2017


Authors


Raul
Editor


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