This is a must-read piece from John Hood about approaches to taxation — plus some valuable data.
Among taxpaying households, the bottom 20 percent pays about 15 percent of their income in federal, state, and local taxes. The next quintile pays about 19 percent. The middle quintile pays 23 percent. The fourth quintile pays 27 percent. The highest-income quintile pays about 32 percent, with the top 1 percent of taxpayers in income paying 40 percent of that income, on average, in taxes of all kinds.
Whatever you think about this, our tax system is clearly not biased against poor- and middle-income taxpayers.
This one’s a keeper — one to share with your friends. As we debate tax reform ideas, it’s important to begin the discussion with facts.
