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Hey dingus: the reason the share of taxes paid by the top earners has increased even while the top rates have decreased IS BECAUSE THE INCOMES OF THE TOP EARNERS HAVE DRAMATICALLY INCREASED DURING THAT TIME. The top earners now earn far more proportionally compared to the bottom earners (whose wages have stagnated).![]()
Who Pays Income Taxes?
(PDF) updated December 2024 Taxes will dominate Congress’s agenda in 2025 as lawmakers confront the impending expiration of key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). These expirations will spark intense debate over the future of the tax code, and will undoubtedly feature...www.ntu.org
In 1980, the top marginal income tax rate was 70%, and the wealthiest 1% of earners paid 19% of all federal income taxes. Over the decades, their share of the income tax burden has consistently grown, even as top marginal tax rates were reduced significantly. At the same time, the tax share of the bottom half of earners has sharply declined—from 7% in 1980 to just 2.96% in 2022.
The newest data reveals that the top 1% of earners, defined as those with incomes over $663,164, paid nearly 40.43% of all income taxes—marking a significant drop from the previous tax year, as the economy improved in the wake of the pandemic and economic shutdown. This was a drop of 5 points (12% lower) than in 2021 when the top 1% paid nearly 46% of all income taxes. Similar to prior years of data, the amount of taxes paid by this percentile is nearly twice as much as its share of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), underscoring the progressive nature of the tax system.
The top 10% of earners bore responsibility for 76% of all income taxes paid, and the top 25% paid 89% of all income taxes. Altogether, the top 50% of filers earned 90% of all income and were responsible for 98% of all income taxes paid in 2021.
The other half of earners, those with incomes below $46,637, collectively paid 2.3% of all income taxes in 2021.
You can't seriously be this obtuse.