Marc On Taxes
Marc, pictured, I have known for many years, to my benefit, via Eric (who slyly forwards my last blog to him, which is like a red-flag before the bull). He is one smart Brooklyn Jew who went to Cornell and the Harvard Kennedy School and has spent his life in public service (while working for Nancy Pelosi: "“For me it comes down to basic issues of social justice and working for impoverished folks"). Now Marc is an analyst for the AFL-CIO. We were together at Eric's wedding.
Here is Marc's take on the US tax system:
"... Overall, Americans pay taxes in relative proportion to their income and it is a myth that the bottom 50% pay nothing in federal taxes.
For example, the federal tax code is only slightly progressive and total American taxes even less so. The richest one percent of Americans pay 21.6% of the total taxes in America, but they also take in 21% of the total income in America. That's barely progressive and it is because , when you add up all the different federal, state and local taxes that Americans pay, you find that America's overall tax system is just barely progressive. On the bottom end, the share of total taxes paid by the poorest fifth of Americans (2.1%) is only slightly less than this group’s share of total income (3.4%). Remember also that the total effective tax rate for the richest 1% (29%) is only about four percentage points higher than the total effective tax rate for the middle fifth of taxpayers (25.2%). So the richest rich are paying an effective rate in the same ballpark as the middle class.
Tax Policy Center data show that only about 17% of households did not pay any federal income tax or payroll tax in 2009, despite the high unemployment and temporary tax cuts that marked that year. In 2007, a more typical year, the figure was 14%. This percentage would be even lower if it reflected other federal taxes that households pay, including excise taxes on gasoline and other items.
As for your comment that "Obama, afterall, transferred $1 T of wealth following Bush and the '08 crises" - what are you talking about? The late 2010 two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts, ensured that the wealthiest 2% would continue to reap disproportionate tax benefits from temporarily reduced marginal income tax rates, reduced tax rates on capital gains and dividends, and other tax loopholes."
For example, the federal tax code is only slightly progressive and total American taxes even less so. The richest one percent of Americans pay 21.6% of the total taxes in America, but they also take in 21% of the total income in America. That's barely progressive and it is because , when you add up all the different federal, state and local taxes that Americans pay, you find that America's overall tax system is just barely progressive. On the bottom end, the share of total taxes paid by the poorest fifth of Americans (2.1%) is only slightly less than this group’s share of total income (3.4%). Remember also that the total effective tax rate for the richest 1% (29%) is only about four percentage points higher than the total effective tax rate for the middle fifth of taxpayers (25.2%). So the richest rich are paying an effective rate in the same ballpark as the middle class.
Tax Policy Center data show that only about 17% of households did not pay any federal income tax or payroll tax in 2009, despite the high unemployment and temporary tax cuts that marked that year. In 2007, a more typical year, the figure was 14%. This percentage would be even lower if it reflected other federal taxes that households pay, including excise taxes on gasoline and other items.
As for your comment that "Obama, afterall, transferred $1 T of wealth following Bush and the '08 crises" - what are you talking about? The late 2010 two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts, ensured that the wealthiest 2% would continue to reap disproportionate tax benefits from temporarily reduced marginal income tax rates, reduced tax rates on capital gains and dividends, and other tax loopholes."
