the issue generally isnt with high-income individuals not paying enough taxes on their income, the issue lies with the taxation of capital, and with the vast possibilities for big corporations to reduce their taxation through countless legal and illegal loopholes.

and it is of course questionable when the top 1% of the country accounts for 19% of the national gross income, while the bottom 50% account for just 11.5% of the income.

I get that. I'm not saying the current system is fair or that tax evasion isn't a problem. I was responding to the claim that rich people don't pay taxes and that somehow poor people are the ones paying.

They do receive a high percentage of the national gross income, but as a whole they still pay a lot more than that 19% in taxes.

well, you have to keep in mind that those charts were talking exclusively about income taxes. other forms of taxes, like VAT, also account for a significant percentage of overall tax revenues; and consumption-based taxes like VAT hit poor people A LOT harder than rich folks.

Have you ever paid taxes on a $150M yacht?

Jokes aside, it doesn't include finanicial help received either (EBT, WIC, SNAP...).

Adjusted Gross Income.

Adjusted.

Adjusted for what?



Oh. So you mean those rich people are writing everything they possibly can off and not counting their investment income and trying to claim they make proportionally less income to tax expenditures than anyone else even though they are a privileged class who actually can benefit from itemization and exploit loopholes in tax law like no one else?


Try again.

Despite the write-offs, they still pay a proportionally larger amount in income taxes than what their income would suggest. Not saying there are no loopholes (legal or not) in the law, but claiming that the poor pay for them in some bold statement is wrong.

Which part of the topic title, escapes your notice. If you want to have a topic about taxes, or about how the rich are ripping off the poor...make one.

3-1=4 according to inky

Find the gross annual income of the top 1%, not adjusted for inflation, and then we'll talk.



"That makes me smart"

This post was edited by inkanddagger on Mar 9 2018 04:37pm

You made the claim. From the IRS data, they pay their share. To be in the top 1% you need to make approx. $400,000, they’re not all the big corporate magnates you imagine.