Are Middle Class Taxpayers Really Paying Taxes That The Rich Should Be Paying?

Scottsdale, AZ, April 4, 2008 -Start with a simple statement made by a senator during a recent television interview. He said that the tax reduction for the rich is being made up by taxes paid by the middle class taxpayers. Let’s look at available data to see if the middle class tax filers are actually subsidizing the tax responsibility of the "rich".

Many sets of numbers are currently available for this analysis. I’ve chosen to use round numbers for this example. First is the number of Americans who are potential taxpayers. Census data shows about 200 million of these. Next, the number the federal government budgets to spend from taxpayer revenue. The records show this to be about $3.1 trillion annually. This gives us a way of computing each citizen’s gross tax burden (about $15,500). But numbers are available to refine the costs.

Many sources are tapped to support government budget expenditures. Individual taxpayers shoulder the burden by contributing about 52.5% of this budget. The remainder comes from employment, estate, corporate and excise taxes. If everyone paid the same individually, Americans would contribute about $8000 each to operate the government annually.

Tax policies aren’t that simple, so some pay more and some pay nothing toward thebudget. Tax forms allow family members to file a single form combining their tax burdens. The latest authorized budget figures show about 140 million filers submitted evidence of their income. Of that group, only about 120 million actually paid taxes. Over 20% of lowest income tax filers contribute nothing to the tax system. In fact, the bottom 20% receive rather than pay taxes as a benefit of tax policy, and this is a result of recenttax cuts signed by the President.

In round terms, each taxpayer’s fair share, if equal, would approximate $13,300. But the "rich" actually pick up the fair share burden for others in the middle and low incomegroups.

Here’s how that fair share works out in real life:

· The top 1% of American taxpayers average 32 fair shares each.(Income above $349,700)
· The next 4% average 5 fair shares each.(Income above $195,800)
· The next 5% average 5 fair shares each.(Income above $128,500)
· The next 10% average 1.4 fair shares each.

That’s how the top 20% support the middle and lower income taxpayers—not the reverse support touted by the senator, and believed by many.

· The next 20% only average .76% of a fair share each.
· The next 20% only average .27% of a fair share each.
· The next 20% pay nothing.
· The bottom 20% pay nothing and actually receive income from filing tax forms.

Now, do you see how the statement that "the middle class taxpayer supports the rich as a result of the President’s tax cuts" is very inaccurate?

Authored by: Gerald Dudley Ph D, Developer and Researcher
Career Resource Center
http://www.careerfit-test.com