Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. Andre Gide

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Some Interesting Tax Facts (US Style)

Canadians (yes, I am one of them) are sometimes led to believe that the Canadidan tax system is much more redistributive than in the U.S. I am not sure whether this is true or not, but I came across this article today that made me reflect on this: Nearly Half of U.S. Households Escape Fed Tax.

Some interesting tidbits:

[1] About 47% of Americans will pay no federal income tax in 2009
[2] The top 10% of earners pay about 73% of all income tax collected by the federal government
[3] The bottom 40% of earners will (on average) pay negative taxes (are net recipients of transfer income)

3 comments:

  1. David,

    Yes, we exploiters of the poor do pay most of the taxes. And yet, the income gap keeps increasing - surely a sign we are further exploiting the poor!

    But, marginal tax rates add a great deal to this discussion. I have this CBO report from 2005 that I like to show my class regarding marginal tax rates when we discuss the idea of disposable income and incentives. You may enjoy it.

    http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/68xx/doc6854/11-10-LaborTaxation.pdf

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  2. That report was helpful as months went by. It is something that can be a base for change.

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