US rich pay 40% of taxes, not nearly all
The middle 49% pay 57% of US taxes and the top 1% pay 40%. The story that the rich pay everything doesn't survive the arithmetic.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The top 1% pay 40% of US taxes, the middle class 57%
The claim that the wealthy in the United States shoulder nearly all the taxes doesn't hold up to arithmetic. The actual distribution of the tax burden leaves the richest 1% contributing 40% of the total, while the middle 49% — the middle and upper-middle class — pay 57%. The poorest 50% barely reach 3%. The story is only half true: the very rich pay a lot, but not nearly everything.
The distribution that debunks the myth
Those who argue that the rich already pay plenty usually cite the 40% contributed by the top 1%. Huge as the figure is, it hides the fact that the central band of taxpayers shoulders more than half of what is collected. And on the wealth side, the 1% hoard 80% or more of the pie. Not exactly the picture of a pogre tax burden.
There was a time when the top brackets paid over 80%, before the Reagan and Thatcher tax cuts. Since then, the pressure has been shifting downward. The 40 million Americans surviving on food stamps are the uncomfortable counterpoint to any revenue triumphalism. After World War II, historical comparisons say, American society shared things out differently.
The Spanish mirror: from VAT to garbage
In Spain, the promise of making the rich pay has turned into a tax everyone pays: VAT. Ironically dubbed "Taxes Dumped by Aristocrats," it hits every purchase, whoever makes it. It is the working middle class that sustains it.
The latest example comes from Valencia: the new garbage tax is being notified in August, right in the middle of the holidays, with seven days to pay and the threat of a 20% surcharge for missing the deadline. Those left "on tenterhooks" are the ordinary workers, always sewn to taxes, while the fiction is sold that capital picks up the bill.
The uncomfortable question: if the 1% already pay 40%, why does every new local tax end up falling on the 49%? Why does the middle class accept the tale of the perpetually squeezed rich? Perhaps because the data barely lasts a minute on the retina.
The claim that the wealthy in the United States shoulder nearly all the taxes doesn't hold up to arithmetic. The actual distribution of the tax burden leaves the richest 1% contributing 40% of the total, while the middle 49% — the middle and upper-middle class — pay 57%. The poorest 50% barely reach 3%. The story is only half true: the very rich pay a lot, but not nearly everything.
The distribution that debunks the myth
Those who argue that the rich already pay plenty usually cite the 40% contributed by the top 1%. Huge as the figure is, it hides the fact that the central band of taxpayers shoulders more than half of what is collected. And on the wealth side, the 1% hoard 80% or more of the pie. Not exactly the picture of a pogre tax burden.
There was a time when the top brackets paid over 80%, before the Reagan and Thatcher tax cuts. Since then, the pressure has been shifting downward. The 40 million Americans surviving on food stamps are the uncomfortable counterpoint to any revenue triumphalism. After World War II, historical comparisons say, American society shared things out differently.
The Spanish mirror: from VAT to garbage
In Spain, the promise of making the rich pay has turned into a tax everyone pays: VAT. Ironically dubbed "Taxes Dumped by Aristocrats," it hits every purchase, whoever makes it. It is the working middle class that sustains it.
The latest example comes from Valencia: the new garbage tax is being notified in August, right in the middle of the holidays, with seven days to pay and the threat of a 20% surcharge for missing the deadline. Those left "on tenterhooks" are the ordinary workers, always sewn to taxes, while the fiction is sold that capital picks up the bill.
The uncomfortable question: if the 1% already pay 40%, why does every new local tax end up falling on the 49%? Why does the middle class accept the tale of the perpetually squeezed rich? Perhaps because the data barely lasts a minute on the retina.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (36 replies).
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