What percentage of income tax do the "blank" pay?

Question

So i was just reading a newspaper article, and was currious if anyone would get this answer correct, or somewhere in the ballpark anyway.

For the years 1990, 2000, and 2005:

The richest 1% of income earners payed what percent of the total income tax?

The richest 5% payed what percentage?

The bottom 50% payed what percentage?

As a clue, in 1990, the top 1% made 14% of total income and in 2000, and 2005, the top 1% made 21% of total income.

Well considering the answers seem to have dried up, here are the answers. This is what the Dec. 17 Wall Street Journal reports. They then site the Treasury Dep.

Top 1% Income Income Taxes
1990 14% 25%
2000 21% 37%
2005 21% 39%

Top5% Income Income Taxes
1990 27% 44%
2000 35% 56%
2005 36% 60%

Bot50% in 2005 payed 3%

Also side note, in 1980, when the top tax rate was 70% (now 35%), the top 1% payed only 19% of the total income tax.

Also, the one answer that sited a house committee report with a link with the top 1% paying 18% of the income tax cited his worl incorrectly. The 18% number is for total federal taxation, not income taxes. Social Security and Medicare are regressive and increase the poorer segments share of taxation.

Well considering the answers seem to have dried up, here are the answers. This is what the Dec. 17 Wall Street Journal reports. They then site the Treasury Dep.

Top 1% /Income /Income Taxes
1990 /14% /25%
2000 /21% /37%
2005 /21% /39%

Top5% /Income /Income Taxes
1990 /27% /44%
2000 /35% /56%
2005 /36% /60%

Bot50% in 2005 payed 3%

Also side note, in 1980, when the top tax rate was 70% (now 35%), the top 1% payed only 19% of the total income tax.

Also, the one answer that sited a house committee report with a link with the top 1% paying 18% of the income tax cited his worl incorrectly. The 18% number is for total federal taxation, not income taxes. Social Security and Medicare are regressive and increase the poorer segments share of taxation.

Answer 1

The richest 1% paid 39% of the income taxes, up from 37% in 2000.

The richest 5% paid 60% of the income taxes, up from 56% in 2000.

The bottom 50% paid 3% of income taxes.

Kinda shines a new light on the whole "Bush's tax cuts only helped the rich" argument, huh?

Now let's count the thumbs down from those who are disconnected from reality.

Answer 2

Taxes are to pay for the structures and systems provided by government. Some people are getting a lot more benefit from those structures and systems than others. For example, if you earned over a million dollars, you are obviously benefitting a lot more than someone who earned only $20K. Therefore it is reasonable to expect those who benefit more to pay more. The very rich paid 90% of their income in taxes not that long ago. If you earned $5M, you'd have to somehow manage to survive on the measly $500K left after taxes. Sounds awful, doesn't it? But let us take comfort in the fact that such taxes are purely voluntary. Those who feel that it isn't worthwhile to be wealthy are always free to become poor.

Answer 3

IRS data shows that in 2004, the richest 50% of the taxpayers paid 96.7% of all income taxes. From 1986 to 2004, the share paid by the richest half increased from 93.5% to 96.7%, and the share paid by the richest 1% increased from 25.75% to 36.89%. At the same time, the amount paid by the poorer half decreased from 6.5% in 1986 to 3.3% in 2004. While the poor's contribution was cut in half, the richest Americans saw their contribution increase by nearly 50%. When you get past the propaganda, for the last two decades the rich have been paying more and more while the poor have been paying less and less.

To put it simply, of the $832 billion in personal income taxes collected in 2004, the richest half of the country paid $804 billion while the poorest half only paid $27.4 billion.

Answer 4

Top 5% of taxpayers paid more than 1/2 (53.8%)
of all individual income taxes, but reported 1/3 (30.6%) of income.
Top 1% of taxpayers paid 33.7%. This group of
taxpayers has paid more than 30% since 1995!

Answer 5

Well for all of you who just want to throw around numbers without actually knowing the answer..... I have it here.

http://www.house.gov/jct/x-45-00.pdf

The top 1% paid 18.6 percent of all income tax in 2000
Keep this in mind while reading this chart
"The highest 10% begins at $100,928, the highest 5% at $134,308 and the highest 1% at $296,828."

$296,828. isn't necessarily "rich", so factor in the people who make MILLIONS per year...they are included in the top 1% figure.

This means that the middle income earners...50k - 134k paid over half of all the income tax collected in 2000. This reaffirms the belief that the middle class is getting screwed.

---before any of you thumb me down....you better read the pdf for yourself.---.

Answer 6

Top 5% pay 53.25% of all income taxes (Down from 2000 figure: 56.47%). The top 10% pay 64.89% (Down from 2000 figure: 67.33%). The top 25% pay 82.9% (Down from 2000 figure: 84.01%). The top 50% pay 96.03% (Down from 2000 figure: 96.09%). The bottom 50%? They pay a paltry 3.97% of all income taxes. The top 1% is paying more than ten times the federal income taxes than the bottom 50%!

And who earns what? The top 1% earns 17.53 (2000: 20.81%) of all income. The top 5% earns 31.99 (2000: 35.30%). The top 10% earns 43.11% (2000: 46.01%); the top 25% earns 65.23% (2000: 67.15%), and the top 50% earns 86.19% (2000: 87.01%) of all the income.

Answer 7

Currently the top income people pay 36% in Federal taxes + 6.2% social security + 1.45% medicare + XX% state taxes + xx% other income taxes (e.g., state disability)

So, anyone that says the rich don't pay taxes doesn't look at the numbers. We have clients that pay more in CA state taxes than most people make. And, these (approx. top 1%) people that aledegedly don't pay taxes pay about 95% of the taxes.

Answer 8

The rich pay 36% i think

The middle around 20%

The poor around 10%

Ballpark figures.

I know the rich pay more than 50% of the total taxes taken in.

Answer 9

The Top 1% pay 50% of the total taxes

Top 5% pay 80%

Bottom 50% pay 10%

Answer 10

I'll bet most of those people didn't have to pay it. See this, and be free from that burden:
http://www.losthorizons.com/Cracking_the_Code.htm