| CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE STATISTICS | |||||
| What percentage of total US Taxes are paid by the wealthiest Americans? Ranked by income. | |||||
| Top Quintile | Top 5% | Top 1% | Lowest Quintile | Middle Quintile | |
| 1980 | 65% | 35% | 17% | 0% | 10% |
| 1990 | 70% | 42% | 22% | 1% | 9% |
| 2000 | 80% | 55% | 36% | -2% | 6% |
| 2010 | 64% | 39% | |||
What this seems to tell us is that all the hysteria about making the rich pay more taxes is working. They really do pay a lot of taxes, a huge share, compared to the rest of us.
The lowest quintile ranking is most interesting! According to the CBO, the taxpayers who have lower income and rank in the lowest 20% didn't really pay taxes...they got money back.
Our system is a "progressive" tax system--the more you make, the more you pay. This all makes sense, but tweaking the laws over the last 30 years has resulted in the top earners paying more and more of the total tax bill of the country.
Listening to the politicians and reading the "news," you could be forgiven for coming to a different conclusion.
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