Who needs to pay their fair share?

[Guest nicemac]

National Taxpayers Union - Who Pays Income Taxes?

[greenego]

I think the tables speak for themselves. What the tables don't show is who receive the most in federal benefits, not counting Social Security.

[Raoul]

So if I read this right the top 1% and the bottom 50% are screwing me. Is this correct?

[quietguy]

So if I read this right the top 1% and the bottom 50% are screwing me. Is this correct?

Yep. And those also happen to be the same groups that benefit the most.

[Garufa]

Maybe I'm dense but that is the worse presentation of stats I've ever seen.

[Raoul]

Maybe I'm dense but that is the worse presentation of stats I've ever seen.

Contextually. We just got a screenshot from what I assume was a more broadly explained dataset.

[Guest lostpass]

Ah, it is way worse than that when you factor in local taxes. Since the bottom half spend every dime they get (they have to unless very disciplined) they pay a higher effective tax rate than the very rich.

But let's not get too carried away. If you look at how much the rich folks pay in taxes it is close to the amount of wealth they have. So it might look like they are paying little but they actually cough fifty percent of the dough. From what I recollect.

[1gewehr]

Let's ask the question nobody else will. What is the 'fair share'? If it is the total of all US government annual spending ($3.721 Trillion 2011) divided by the population (311 million) we get about $11,964 per person. Is taxing every single person that amount a 'fair share'? What if we give everyone under 18 (about 25% of the population) a 'free ride'. Then it's ~$15,991 per adult. but wait! Many of those people don't work? How can they pay if they don't work? Taxing only those who work gives us only 153.6 million people to tax. That works out to $24,225 for every working resident of the USA.

So, considering that the average income in the US is only $39,138, it means that a 'fair share' is about 62% of every working person's income.

It seems to me that the answer is to reduce spending so that every person's 'fair share' is considerably less than 62%!!!

BTW, when you consider the average person's tax burden, you need to figure out ALL of the taxes they pay (sales, excise, import, property, estate, inventory, etc), not just income tax. And corporations don't pay tax, they just collect it from their customers. ALL taxes are a burden to individuals, not organizations.

[Guest nicemac]

And corporations don't pay tax, they just collect it from their customers. ALL taxes are a burden to individuals, not organizations.

So many people just don't get this. Consumers pay all corporate taxes, eventually.

Edited September 19, 2011 by nicemac

[greenego]

So many people just don't get this. Consumers pay all corporate taxes, eventually.

So True.

[BrasilNuts]

So many people just don't get this. Consumers pay all corporate taxes, eventually.

Yup, I remember all those people crying for Windfall Profit Taxes and thinking...Idiots...