Here's what the US gov says about the top 5% and top 1%...not some little 400 number.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/incometaxandtheirs/a/whopaysmost.htm 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. ----- > 15 Mar > The rich don’t pay their fair share… they pay much more! [Reader Post] > Flopping Aces > > There’s an old saying; A picture is worth a thousand words. Pie charts will > likely never be confused with great art in terms of story telling, but they > have a way of making complicated issues clear. Income taxes are one of those > things that are naturally difficult to grasp and the issue is made that much > more opaque because liberals love to obscure the facts. > > One of the shibboleths of the left is that the rich don’t pay their fair > share of taxes. One of the more amusing segments of the 2008 Presidential > campaign involved Neal Boortz asking then Democrat hopeful Dennis Kucinich > two simple questions: > > 1. *What percentage of total income is earned by the top 1% of income > earners?* > 2. What percentage of total federal income taxes are paid by the top 1% > of income earners. > > <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-phBjGjjFj1o/TX4GlNfe4FI/AAAAAAAAASQ/FaAjJBKJaaQ/s1600/Income.jpg>of > all of the federal income taxes – according to Congressman Kucinich > <http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/100xx/doc10068/effective_tax_rates_2006.pdf> > answered <http://boortz.com/nuze/200801/01092008.html>: He thought the top > 1% of income earners earned 60% of the income and paid about 15% of the > taxes. He was a little off. In fact, the top 1% of income earners earn > approximately 17% of all the earnings in the country. That’s certainly > higher than the 1% they represent of the population but a far cry from > Congressman Kucinich’s 60%. More astounding however, is that they pay fully > 39% a 2009 Congressional Budget Office report. The below chart demonstrates > clearly the absurdity of the notion that the rich do not pay their fair > share of taxes. > > The first chart shows that the rich do indeed pay far more than their oft > cited “fair share” of income taxes. Not only that, it also shows that the > bottom 40% of wage earners actually have a negative tax rate and get money > back from the government in the form of income tax credits! > > Another of the left’s arguments is that the lower income wage earners pay a > disproportionate amount of the Social Security / Medicare tax. That too is > false. The second chart states that the top 10% of wage earners pay 43.5% of > all social insurance taxes while the bottom 40% pay just 15%. > > > <http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jqVHJgm8-yI/TX36wtRUQzI/AAAAAAAAAR4/d_FwLNJTHPs/s1600/SSIPie.jpg>Why > does any of this matter in the first place? The third chart (taken from a > 2010 report from the Tax > Foundation<http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/sr185.pdf>) > demonstrates why…Jobs. It compares wage & salary, capital gain, and dividend > income for all income earners. As you can see, for the 80% of income earners > below $200,000 per year, wages (i.e. a job) make up almost their entire > incomes. Without jobs that someone else creates they would have no income… > except government transfer payments. > > At the $200,000 and above level, business and dividend income starts to > take off and by the $1,000,000 and above level the three are almost > equivalent. Those are the telltale signs of success. Those people earning > those $200,000 and above incomes are the people creating the jobs that > employ most of the remaining 80% of the population. > > Put another way, jobs are not created by wage earners. Jobs are created by > entrepreneurs risking their capital to start businesses… And those > entrepreneurs are the usually found in that $200,000 and above group. The > businesses they start generate 65% of all new jobs created in the United > States. > > > <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYLV2PHwkvo/TX3_wNMJhlI/AAAAAAAAASI/9ecgIHcFWmk/s1600/Wages.jpg>While > the first two charts debunk the myth that the rich do not pay their “fair > share” the above chart demonstrates why it matters: The rich are the ones > starting small businesses and creating jobs and prosperity. > > Myths die hard, particularly when their proponents willingly ignore the > facts. The myth that the rich don’t pay their fair share should soon be > headed the way of the global warming hoax. Clearly it is the people at the > upper end of the income spectrum that are being treated unfairly. They are > not paying their fair share… They are paying more. Not only are they > responsible for 2/3 of all new jobs created, but in return they are rewarded > with being allowed to keep even less of their income as they become more > successful. Perhaps as more Americans examine and understand what it takes > to generate and sustain a dynamic and growing economy the “tax the rich” > cries will begin to fall on deaf ears. That’s exactly what America could use > right now, a reinvigorated entrepreneurial class striving to put more money > in their pockets… and generating millions of jobs in the process. > This entry was posted in Barack > Obama<http://floppingaces.net/category/politics/barack-obama-politics/>, > Class Warfare<http://floppingaces.net/category/social-studies/class-warfare/>, > Economy <http://floppingaces.net/category/economy/>, > Obamanomics<http://floppingaces.net/category/politics/barack-obama-politics/obamanomics/>, > Politics <http://floppingaces.net/category/politics/>, > Socialism<http://floppingaces.net/category/politics/socialism-politics/>, > Taxes <http://floppingaces.net/category/economy/taxes-economy/> and tagged > capital gains <http://floppingaces.net/tag/capital-gains/>, > dividends<http://floppingaces.net/tag/dividends/>, > entrepreneurship <http://floppingaces.net/tag/entrepreneurship/>, > income<http://floppingaces.net/tag/income/>, > job creation <http://floppingaces.net/tag/job-creation/>, > Taxes<http://floppingaces.net/tag/taxes/>. > Bookmark the > permalink<http://floppingaces.net/2011/03/15/the-rich-dont-pay-their-fair-share-they-pay-much-more-reader-post/>. > Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 at 4:27 pm > > Bill > > Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don't stand in the doorway Don't block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There's a battle outside And it is ragin' It'll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin'. The line it is drawn The curse it is cast The slow one now Will later be fast As the present now Will later be past The order is Rapidly fadin' And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changin'. Earl -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
