
The tax returns of the top 400 earners reported average income of $335.7 million, a real increase of more than $111 million over 2011, a new IRS report reveals.This is a continuation of the rising income inequality that cost middle-class families $18,000 a year in income between 1979 and 2007. And, as Johnston points out, this rising inequality and the accompanying low taxes for the super-wealthy are not some fluke of nature but are a result of pro-rich policies.Even better for the top 400, their taxes came to just 16.7 percent of their adjusted gross income. [...]
Among the top 400, the IRS report shows that 32 paid nothing to 10 percent in income tax; 123 others paid under 15 percent.