I don't understand what you're saying. I'm probably having a Homer moment. :D

I believe most of the money paid out in income taxes comes from the majority of the people - you know, the middle class, the working class, and upper middle class - not the people at the top who end up paying less because of tax loopholes and offshore accounts.

I don't understand what you're saying. I'm probably having a Homer moment. :D

I believe most of the money paid out in income taxes comes from the majority of the people - you know, the middle class, the working class, and upper middle class - not the people at the top who end up paying less because of tax loopholes and offshore accounts.

So what did you mean by this? When the minority of income earners pay income taxes there is a huge problem.

These were the latest figures I could find.

"Dear Mr. Madoff,

I hope you sit on a sno-cone."

Love, America

OK that is really confusing. Does the top 50% include the other tops? What are the income levels?

Sorry - I forgot to include the link

The column headers are:
1st - Percentiles Ranked by AGI
2nd - AGI Threshold on Percentiles
3rd - Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid

Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross Income
Source: Internal Revenue Service

Read it like this: The top 10% pay 71% of all income tax collected, the top 25% pay 86% of all income taxes collected, etc.

Also an interesting side statistic - 90% of Americans make less that 108k

That's why they end up paying less of the total amount I suppose. But, they DO pay a bigger PERCENTAGE of their actual salary. Unless they are self-employed, and they can write off a bunch of expenses.

You know, really, if you make a half billion dollars, you can afford to pay a large chunk of it. It really wouldn't affect your lifestyle because you would never miss it. Who can spend that much money? No one. If you make $50,000, you WOULD miss it. It would affect your lifestyle. Or if you make $30,000, or $20,000, or shit, $10,000. It's much harder to give away part of your earnings when you're barely making money, and let's face it, those salaries, that is not much to live on. $500,000,000.00 though? Come on. You (not you personally classic) can't honestly say you think they should have the same tax rate as someone who only makes $30k? That is insane!

Look at it if they both paid 15%.

Do you think its fair to take almost 40% of someones income on federal taxes, not to mention any applicable state, local, county and/or city taxes? That puts their gross tax rate well over 50%. How would you like that? Does that seem fair to you? :eyebrow:

If they have a billion dollars, yea, I do. And EVERYONE pays all those other taxes. You make it sound like only rich people pay them. We are taxed to death in this country.

And how many people have a billion dollars? GTFOH.

Individuals or households?

Which is why the people who pay a higher percentage - the average income earning - do not pay 40%.

A flat tax does not become fair until the numbers are more like 23%. Then the rich will pay more taxes.

40% is the myth classicman keeps promoting. A 15% flat tax is only another mythical tax cut as defined by Buffet. Since the only tax cut also cuts spending, then a 15% flat tax only makes more recessions - as demonstrated repeatedly by history.

If the flat tax required the rich to pay 23%, then the rich suffer a tax increase. Flat tax is not the problem. Problem is a mythical and economically destructive number - 15%. A number not possible due to unpaid bills such as $1trillion for "Mission Accomplished".

I don't know, exactly, and I was exaggerating, sort of. But, there are quite a few billionaires in this country. Quite a few. And there are many people who have hundreds of millions...

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/22/4734