A favorite piece of data that advocates for keeping the tax rate where it is and not raising taxes on the rich, is to claim that the rich pay a higher percentage in income taxes. While this is true, it ignores other taxes that the rich don't pay much of. Here is a table with FICA, Sale and Medicare taxes included.
[I apologize for the wide table]
|
Number of Returns |
AGI ($ millions) |
Total Income |
Avg deduction |
Average AGI |
Income Taxes Paid ($ millions) |
Average taxes |
Group's Share of Total AGI |
Group's Share of Income Taxes |
Average Tax Rate |
FICA |
Sales |
Medicare |
Total taxes |
%income |
All Taxpayers |
128609786 |
$6,287,586.00 |
$63,888.86 |
15000 |
$48,888.86 |
$747,939.00 |
$5,815.57 |
100.00% |
100.00% |
11.90% |
$4,791.66 |
$3,513.89 |
$1,852.78 |
15973.9 |
0.33 |
Top 1% |
1286098 |
$1,054,567.00 |
$930,974.06 |
$111,000.00 |
$819,974.06 |
$256,340.00 |
$199,316.07 |
16.77% |
34.27% |
24.31% |
6750 |
$25,601.79 |
2610 |
234277.86 |
0.29 |
Top 2-5% |
5144391 |
$906,109.00 |
$287,135.33 |
$111,000.00 |
$176,135.33 |
$150,257.00 |
$29,207.93 |
14.41% |
20.09% |
16.58% |
6750 |
$9,475.47 |
2610 |
48043.39 |
0.27 |
Top 5% |
6430489 |
$1,960,676.00 |
$415,903.10 |
$111,000.00 |
$304,903.10 |
$406,597.00 |
$63,229.56 |
31.18% |
54.36% |
20.74% |
6750 |
$11,437.34 |
2610 |
84026.9 |
0.28 |
Top 6-10% |
6430490 |
$702,794.00 |
$199,290.89 |
$90,000.00 |
$109,290.89 |
$85,855.00 |
$13,351.24 |
11.18% |
11.48% |
12.22% |
6750 |
$7,124.65 |
2610 |
29835.89 |
0.27 |
Top 10% |
12860979 |
$2,663,470.00 |
$307,096.99 |
$100,000.00 |
$207,096.99 |
$492,452.00 |
$38,290.40 |
42.36% |
65.84% |
18.49% |
6750 |
$11,823.23 |
2610 |
59473.63 |
0.29 |
Top 11-25% |
19291468 |
$1,414,757.00 |
$158,335.89 |
$85,000.00 |
$73,335.89 |
$134,928.00 |
$6,994.18 |
22.50% |
18.04% |
9.54% |
6750 |
$6,966.78 |
2610 |
23320.96 |
0.32 |
Top 25% |
32152447 |
$4,078,227.00 |
$201,840.33 |
$75,000.00 |
$126,840.33 |
$627,380.00 |
$19,512.67 |
64.86% |
83.88% |
15.38% |
6750 |
$8,880.97 |
2610 |
37753.64 |
0.3 |
Top 26-50% |
32152446 |
$1,329,624.00 |
$61,353.74 |
$20,000.00 |
$41,353.74 |
$94,647.00 |
$2,943.70 |
21.15% |
12.66% |
7.12% |
$4,601.53 |
$3,374.46 |
$1,779.26 |
12698.94 |
0.31 |
Top 50% |
64304893 |
$5,407,851.00 |
$124,097.04 |
$40,000.00 |
$84,097.04 |
$722,027.00 |
$11,228.18 |
86.01% |
96.54% |
13.35% |
$9,307.28 |
$6,825.34 |
$3,598.81 |
30959.61 |
0.37 |
Bottom 50% |
64304893 |
$879,735.00 |
$25,680.69 |
12000 |
$13,680.69 |
$25,912.00 |
$402.96 |
13.99% |
3.46% |
2.95% |
$1,926.05 |
$1,412.44 |
$744.74 |
4486.18 |
0.33 |
I probably made some assumptions that are not completely accurate, like assuming the rich save/invest much more of their income than the poor. I also had to guess at the average deduction, but I used data from the government to get this. When you look at the total tax rate, big surprise, the bottom 50% of Americans pay more in taxes than the rich. Conclusion: we should raise taxes on the rich.