How much tax should the top 5% pay?They pay 40% of all fed taxes.?

Question

The top 1% owns 40% of all wealth in america.

Answer 1

They should be paying 40% of their annual income instead of the 15% they pay now per year. The top 5% and 1% make their income off investments and interest. Both of those are taxed under 15% unlike the middle class which is taxed about 35% of their income give or take a couple of percentage points. On top of that ridiculous low rate of taxes the rich pay they get alot of write offs and deductions on top of it. The middle class actually work for their living, where the richest in our country make it off investments. And, the middle class rarely have many deductions except the interest on their mortgage payment and their kids. Therein lies the difference.

Answer 2

Think about your question and your follow up statement. If the top 1% owns 40% of all wealth in america, then the top 1% should also be shouldering 40% of the taxes. Currently that is divided up among the top 5% according to your own statements, meaning the top 1% are paying far less than they should. If everyone pays a flat rate as a percentage of income, then that 40% burden should be moved up from the top 5 % to the top 1% and all other taxes should be moved upwards as well to represent an exact percentage of what one earns. 10% across the board would be just fine with me.

Answer 3

Want to minimize poverty? Use minimal government! It's really funny looking back at history just before the income tax. There were hardly any taxes and dad could support the whole family because the dollar had not been devalued by the government! Roads were paved, poverty was at about the same level. Where did all those politician promises go to
? For years the democrats promised their government would lower poverty levels but did they really do that much? What about the average American who can barely get by? You want to limit the amount of wealth the top 1% has over us? Then force them into the free market where oligopolies are minimal, force them to fight for my dollar! Lower extra profits by allowing more competition and limiting what the government can do to the economy! If the top 40% paid less we would have so much more in our lifes right now. I would be able to afford health insurance, healthier food, and I could even get the heater in my car fixed! Inflation is just another tax on the people folks! No matter how much you "think" you are going to help it doesn't work!

Answer 4

@Studly I pay way more than 5.8% (and well over 14%) in federal income tax. I do not think it is fair that as a middle class tax payer my rate is lower than that of those in the top 1%. I could care less if they pay a total of 40% of the revenue generated. What I care is whether or not their effective tax rate is lower than the rate I pay. How is it fair that someone who makes 100 times less per year pays a 100% higher rate in taxes? The lies about class warfare are coming from the right wingers who ask questions like this. There is an obvious attempt to confuse the issue here.

Answer 5

Anne Coulter's Nemesis hit the nail on the head. While adjusting the income tax has some effect on the top 5%, a much larger portion of their profit comes from investments of various types. This allows lots of wiggle room for avoiding having to pay a comparable percentage of their total incoming wealth when compared to other citizens who only have conventional, job-based sources of income. The real crackdown should be on these income sources of the elite.

Answer 6

I think it is their responsibility to pay more taxes. This is an item I feel very strongly about. They patronize all kinds of businesses paying minimum wage like coffee shops, gas stations, clothes stores, furniture stores... even thrift stores ( the highest demographic of people who shop the Goodwill make $100,000/yr. or more).... they patronize places paying minimum wage and then complain because of the social programs (like welfare) that they have to pay for. Hey - get a clue!! Other people have to live too!!!! While a large part of the top 5% have worked hard to get there, getting rich isn't always about working hard - sometimes people are blessed to begin with by a helping hand from their parents, inherritance, superior intelligance, and just plain good luck. Not saying it's not hard work too, but I don't think people should have to suffer just because they hoard all the money. I challenge any one of the top 5% to live on a monthly income of $1200/mo which is what one minimum wage provides, assuming you are lucky enough to have a boss that gives you 40 hrs./week.

Answer 7

Funny thing, income tax only brings in about 30% of the Feddie bears' total revenue. Thus, if Federal spending is cut by 1/3, income tax could be completely abolished.

Answer 8

I was thinking of becoming incredibly wealthy but then I heard that I would pay a lot of taxes, so I just decided I would stay middle class.

Answer 9

Wow!
That is too much.
Everybody should buy into the government, rich, poor, middle class.
10% across the board sounds good to me.
If we cut out all the wasteful government programs we could get by on 10% across the board. This would be a big tax cut for some, which would be a huge stimulation to the economy and thus create alot of jobs and increase overall tax revenue.

Answer 10

They should pay nothing..The wealthy are the ones, whom, for the most part, are the entrepreneurs, they build companies and create jobs, they are philanthropic, and they spend; which in turn helps the economy. When they are forced to pay excessive confiscatory taxes; they stop spending, which hurts all of us. Remember the so called luxury tax in the eighties; it had a devastating effect on some companies, like boat builders.