(Written by Greg Tarpinian, Executive Director of Change to Win, and crossposted on the CtW Connect blog)
Last month, the New York Times’ David Cay Johnston reported the extraordinary fact that, in 2005, the top 1 percent of Americans received their largest share of national income since 1928. Further, while total reported income in the U.S. increased almost 9 percent in 2005, average incomes for those in the bottom 90% actually fell as the income of those in the top 1 percent increased 14%.
But that gap is not enough for the Bush Administration.
Today’s New York Times Business section contains this startling headline: "I.R.S. Audits Middle Class More Often, More Quickly." The Times reports:
Since 2000 [the year Bush was elected], authorities at the Internal Revenue Service have nearly tripled audits of tax returns filed by people making $25,000 to $100,000 as part of a broad change in audit strategy.
For these 61 million individuals and married couples, who make up nearly half of all taxpayers, the odds of being audited rose from 1 in 377 to 1 in 140.
Tax revenue from enforcement actions rose from $33.8 billion in 2000 to $48.7 billion in 2006.
Now, I am all for everyone paying what they owe. But this comes from an Administration that not only forced through a massive tax cut for millionaires, but has dramatically reduced enforcement of every government law or regulation that might interfere with corporate profits or might protect workers.