Well, this survey result is interesting...
In the latest The Hill-HarrisX survey, which was conducted Jan. 12 and 13 after the newly elected congresswoman called for the U.S. to raise its highest tax rate to 70 percent, found that a sizable majority of registered voters, 59 percent, supports the idea. Ocasio-Cortez has not introduced any legislation to enact the concept but the survey shows a broad cross-section of Americans supports it, at least presently.
Women support the idea by a 62-38 percent margin. A majority of men back it as well, 55 percent to 45 percent. The proposal is popular in all regions of the country with a majority of Southerners backing it by a 57 to 43 percent margin. Rural voters back it as well, 56 percent to 44 percent.
Increasing the highest tax bracket to 70 percent garners a surprising amount of support among Republican voters. In the Hill-HarrisX poll, 45 percent of GOP voters say they favor it while 55 percent are opposed to it. Independent voters who were contacted backed the tax idea by a 60 to 40 percent margin while Democratic ones favored it, 71 percent to 29 percent. — thehill.com/...
Unsurprisingly, the proposal garners wide-spread support in every region. Rural voters, southerns, men, women all support it. Even 45% of Republicans support.
This should be the last straw for recalcitrant Democrats who argue that progressive tax and economic plans don’t work in their districts or states. Survey after survey shows consistent support across all geographies and demographics for initiatives like Medicare for All, Free Public College and A Living Wage.
The Hill/Harris pollsters were careful to explain that this was a marginal tax rate. The question they asked voters was:
Currently the top tax rate in 37%. Would you favor or oppose a tax proposal that would apply a 70% rate to the 10 millionth dollar and beyond for individuals making $10 million a year or more in reportable income?
And that is how it’s done...
As an added bonus, AOC delivered a smack-down to another Republican trying to confuse Americans about how marginal tax rates work.
Walker also got some choice responses from others.
— @subirgrewal
Tuesday, Jan 15, 2019 · 9:56:27 PM +00:00
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subir
I going to add some basic stats since we’ve been discussing them deep in the comment threads.
Looking at 2016 data (csv link from IRS’ SOI stats), here are the stats reported for tax returns where AGI was over $10,000,000.
- Number of returns: 16,087
- Sum of AGI less deficit across all returns: $482,067,421,000
- Average AGI: $29,966,272
The 70% tax rate proposed would apply to roughly $320 Billion in income (482Bn — 160Bn).