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Federal Taxes Paid by Income

Posted by truthfulpolitics.com Taxes Comments Off

Apr 242014

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in December 2013 presented estimates on “the distribution of household income and federal taxes in 2010.” The 2010 estimate was released in 2013.

The bottom 20% of income earners had an average tax rate of 1.5%.
The top 20% of income earners had an average tax rate of 24%.
“The top 1 percent of all households in the United States had an average federal tax rate of 29.4 percent in 2010.”
“Households in the top quintile [top 20% of earners] (including the top percentile) paid 68.8 percent of all federal taxes, households in the middle quintile [top 40% – 60% of earners] paid 9.1 percent, and those in the bottom quintile [bottom 20% of earners] paid 0.4 percent of federal taxes.”

Click on the chart below to see an enlarged, clearer chart.

The bottom 20% of earners received 5.1% of before-tax income, and after paying taxes, they received 6.2% of after-tax income.
The middle 20% of earners received 14.2% of after-tax income and 15.4% of after-tax income.
The top 20% of earners received 51.9% of before-tax income and 48.1% of after-tax income.

Click on the chart below to see an enlarged, clearer chart.

“Even with the increases in average federal tax rates in 2010, the average rate for each income group was below the rate that prevailed for that group in the 1990s and most of the 2000s”
“The exception was households in the top 1 percent, whose average federal tax rate in 2010 was significantly above its low in the mid-1980s.”

Click on the chart below to see an enlarged, clearer chart.

According to the CBO, tax rule changes between the years 2010 and 2013 will affect average federal tax rates in the following ways:

“Tax rates will increase overall as a result of the changes in tax rules, with the largest increases at either end of the income distribution”
The lowest quintile is projected to experiance average tax rate increases by 1.6 percent
The middle quintile is projected to experiance average tax rate increases by 1.0 percent
The top quintile is projected to experience average tax rate increases by 4.2 percent.
“For most income groups, average tax rates under 2013 law are projected to remain below those in 2007, the year before the recession began, and well below those for most of the past three decades. For the top 1 percent of households, however, average rates under 2013 law will be higher than in any year since 1997.”

To read the entire report, click on The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2010.

U.S. Ranking in Global Competitiveness Report

Posted by truthfulpolitics.com Economic Performance 743 Responses »

Oct 022013

Annually, the World Economic Forum presents its Global Competitiveness Report to highlight strengths and weaknesses of countries, their overall business climate, and priorities for policy change. The 2013-2014 report ranked the U.S. as follows:

Number 5 overall out of 148 countries.
#35 in institutions
#15 in infrastructure
#117 in macroeconomic environment
#34 in health and primary education
#7 in higher education and training
#20 in goods market efficiency
#4 in labor market efficiency
#10 in financial market development
#15 in technological readiness
#1 in market size
#6 in business sophistication
#7 in innovation

The report listed the following as the top 6 most problematic factors for doing business in the U.S.:

Tax regulations,
Tax rates,
Inefficient government bureaucracy,
Access to financing,
Restrictive labor regulations,
and Inadequately educated workforce.

Furthermore, the report mentioned the following:

The “business community continues to be rather critical, with trust in politicians still somewhat weak (50th), concerns about the government’s ability to maintain arms-length relationships with the private sector (54th), and a general perception that the government spends its resources relatively wastefully (76th).”
“The country’s social sustainability score is somewhat lower than that of other advanced economies because of high income inequality and relatively high youth unemployment (17.3 percent).”
“In terms of environmental sustainability, the below-par performance of the United States is the consequence of several factors that include the country’s lack of commitment to joining international treaties, its limited political will to firmly improve on critical environmental issues, the high pressure on its water resources for agriculture, its relatively high CO2 emissions, and limited protected land area.”

To read the entire report, click on The Global Competitiveness Report 2013 – 2014.

The 2008-2009 report ranked the U.S. as follows:

The US was #1 in overall global competitiveness.
The US was #66 in macroeconomic stability.
The US was #34 in health and primary education.

The top 4 most problematic factors for doing business were:

tax rates,
tax regulations,
inefficient government bureaucracy,
and, inadequately educated workforce.

To read the entire report, click on The Global Competitiveness Network or click on The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009.

Thank You for All the Likes on Facebook

Posted by truthfulpolitics.com Miscellaneous Issues Comments Off

Sep 232013

Thank you for all of the likes on our Facebook page. To like us on Facebook, click on truthful politics on Facebook. To follow us on Twitter, click on truthful politics on Twitter.

Percent of People that Do Not Pay Income Taxes

Posted by truthfulpolitics.com Taxes 307 Responses »

Sep 152013

Chuck Marr and Chye-Ching Huang in September 2012 from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported on the percentage of people that pay taxes. The types of taxes are broken into different categories from income taxes, to payroll taxes, to state and local taxes.

Federal Income Taxes

In 2007, 40 percent of households did not owe federal income tax.
In 2009, 51 percent of households did not owe federal income tax.
In 2011, 46 percent of households did not owe federal income tax.
According to the report, the higher percentage of households post-2007 that did not owe federal income tax is due to the economic downturn significantly increasing the number of people with low incomes. The 2007 “figure more closely reflects the percentage that do not owe income tax in normal economic times.”

Payroll Taxes

In 2007, 14 percent of households did not pay federal income tax or payroll tax.
In 2009, 17 percent of households did not pay federal income tax or payroll tax.
In 2007, “the poorest fifth of households paid an average of 4.0 percent of their incomes in federal taxes”
The average income of the poorest fifth was $18,400 in 2007.
“The next-to-the bottom fifth — those with incomes between $20,500 and $34,300 in 2007 — paid an average of 10.6 percent of their incomes in federal taxes.”

State and Local Taxes

In 2011, the poorest fifth of households paid 12.3 percent of their incomes in state and local taxes.

Total Taxes (Including Federal, State, and Local Taxes)

“When all federal, state, and local taxes are taken into account, the bottom fifth of households pays about 16 percent of their incomes in taxes, on average. The second-poorest fifth pays about 21 percent.”

To read the entire article, click on Misconceptions and Realities About Who Pays Taxes.

According to the Tax Policy Center, 37.8% of tax units do NOT pay income taxes. In fact, 4.1% of tax units that make over $100,000 annually, do not pay income taxes. Tax units can be singles, couples, or families. The table may be found by clicking on Distribution of Tax Units with Zero or Negative Individual Income Tax Liability by Cash Income Level, 2009.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, even though a tax unit might not pay income taxes, they would still pay other federal taxes, including Social Security, Medicare, and excise taxes. The table may be read by clicking on Effective Federal Tax Rates, 2004 and 2005.

Spending and Taxes

Posted by truthfulpolitics.com Government Spending, Taxes 287 Responses »

Jul 082013

The Office of Management and Budget annually provides a report on U.S. federal government spending and revenue.

The first set of numbers uses Table 1.3 of the budget. The numbers are inflation adjusted, displaying all dollar amounts in constant fiscal year 2005 dollars, as provided by the Office of Management and Budget. Therefore, dollar amounts prior to year 2005 are inflated and dollar amounts after 2005 are deflated. For example, U.S. federal government expenditures in 1940 were $9.5 billion dollars; that spending level is the equivalent of $117.8 billion in 2005 dollars. Likewise, U.S. federal government expenditures in 2009 were $3,517.7 billion dollars; that spending level is the equivalent of $3,176.8 billion in 2005 dollars.

In 2012, total U.S. federal government expenditures were $3,022,200,000,000, or $3.02 trillion.
In 2012, total U.S. federal government revenue was $2,093,400,000,000, or $2.09 trillion.
The deficit in 2012 was $929 billion ($2.09 trillion – $3.02 trillion).
In 2007, total federal government expenditures were $2,564,100,000,000, or $2.56 trillion.
If the federal government spent the same, inflation adjusted, in 2012 as it did in 2007, it would have had a deficit of $471 billion ($2.09 trillion – $2.56 trillion). Therefore, the U.S. federal government deficit, inflation adjusted, was almost double what the deficit would have been had the government increased spending by the rate of inflation.
In 2007, total U.S. federal government revenue was $2,413,100,000,000, or $2.41 trillion.
The deficit in 2007 was $151 billion ($2.41 trillion – $2.56 trillion).
In 1997, total U.S. federal government expenditures were $1,915,200,000,000, or $1.92 trillion.
If the federal government spent the same, inflation adjusted, in 2007 as it did in 1997, it would have had a surplus of $498 billion ($2.41 trillion – $1.92 trillion) instead of a deficit of $151 billion.

The following numbers (second set of this article) use Table 2.1 of the budget in addition to Table 1.3 and are NOT inflation adjusted.

In 2012, total U.S. federal government revenue was $2,450,200,000,000, or $2.45 trillion.
Of that $2.45 trillion in revenue in 2012, revenue from individual income taxes was $1,132,206,000,000, or $1.13 trillion.
In 2012, total federal government expenditures were $3,537,100,000,000, or $3.54 trillion.
The deficit in 2012 was $1.09 trillion ($2.45 trillion – $3.54 trillion).
In 2007, total federal government expenditures were $2,728,700,000,000, or $2.73 trillion.
If the federal government spent the same in 2012 as it did in 2007, without collecting any individual income taxes, it would have had a $1.41 trillion deficit ($2.45 trillion – $1.13 trillion – $2.73 trillion). Therefore, if the U.S. federal government in 2012 ABOLISHED ALL INCOME TAXES and spent the same in 2012 as it did in 2007, its deficit would have been $324 billion dollars higher than it was with income tax revenue ($1.41 trillion – $1.09 trillion).
In 2007, total U.S. federal government revenue was $2,568,000,000,000, or $2.57 trillion.
Of that $2.57 trillion in revenue in 2007, revenue from individual income taxes was $1,163,472,000,000, or $1.16 trillion.
In 2007, total federal government expenditures were $2,728,700,000,000, or $2.73 trillion.
The deficit in 2007 was $161 billion ($2.57 trillion – $2.73 trillion).
In 1997, total federal government expenditures were $1,601,100,000,000, or $1.60 trillion.
If the federal government spent the same in 2007 as it did in 1997, without collecting any individual income taxes, it would have had a $197 billion deficit ($2.57 trillion – $1.16 trillion – $1.60 trillion). Therefore, if the U.S. federal government in 2007 ABOLISHED ALL INCOME TAXES and spent the same in 2007 as it did in 1997, its deficit would have been $36 billion dollars higher than it was with income tax revenue ($197 billion – $161 billion).

To view the source data, click on Budget of the United States Government.

Congressional Spending on Travel, Parties, & Meals

Posted by truthfulpolitics.com Corruption, Government Spending Comments Off

Jun 232013

Brody Mullins and T.W. Farnam in The Wall Street Journal in July 2009 wrote the following:

Spending on overseas increased almost tenfold since 1995
2008 overseas travel cost $13 million
“The Air Force maintains a fleet of 16 passenger planes for use by lawmakers.”

To read the entire article, click on Congress’s Travel Tab Swells.

Paul Singer in Roll Call in June 2010 wrote the following:

The government has spent $110.5 million since 2001 on Congressional foreign travel
“That is $30 million to $40 million more than Congress detailed in routine reports published in the Congressional Record on foreign travel expenditures”
“The amount disclosed by Congress in its public reports is far below the actual costs reported by the Treasury Department, and the total spent on foreign travel has skyrocketed in the past decade.”

To read the entire article, click on Millions in Travel Costs Unreported.

Kathy Kristof in The Fiscal Times in August 2010 wrote the following:

When members of Congress fly on military jets, the cost is not recorded
Members of Congress receive free parking, free travel to Washington, D.C. from their home district, and subsidized daycare.

To read the entire article, click on Congress: Living High on the Backs of Taxpayers.

For a list of all travel and meals for every U.S. Congressmen by calendar quarter, click on Statement of Disbursements of the House.

For an annual list of members of Congress who violated the law or ignored Congressional rules, click on CREW’s Most Corrupt.

For a chart of each Senator’s transportation costs for the first half of 2009, click on Chart: Senate office transportation costs.

U.S. Government Debt

Posted by truthfulpolitics.com Government Debt Comments Off

May 222013

For U.S. federal (or national) government debt, click on the following:

For U.S. state government debt, click on State and Local Government Debt.

For every truthful politics article on government debt, click on Government Debt.

U.S. Federal Government Spending by President and Political Party

Posted by truthfulpolitics.com Government Spending 408 Responses »

May 152013

truthful politics has several articles on government spending. To view U.S. federal government spending by president and political party, click on U.S. Federal Government Size, as Measured by Spending, by President/Political Party. For U.S. government spending, including state and local government spending, click on Government Spending to see a list of all articles pertaining to government spending or use the Search tool above.

Gun Statistics

Posted by truthfulpolitics.com Miscellaneous Issues Comments Off

Apr 242013

This article contains information and statistics from various sources on guns, gun control, and gun violence.

James Agresti and Reid Smith in Just Facts reported the following:

	Households With a Gun	Adults Owning a Gun	Adults Owning a Handgun
Percentage	40-45%	30-34%	17-19%
Number	47-53 million	70-80 million	40-45 million

Roughly 16,272 murders were committed in the United States during 2008. Of these, about 10,886 or 67% were committed with firearms.

During the years in which the D.C. handgun ban and trigger lock law was in effect, the Washington, D.C. murder rate averaged 73% higher than it was at the outset of the law, while the U.S. murder rate averaged 11% lower.

During 2002 and 2003, out of 17 million background checks resulting in 120,000 denials, the federal government prosecuted 154 people (about one-tenth of 1% of the denials).

In the three-year period from October 2003 through September 2006, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) conducted 202 operations at 195 gun shows, leading to 121 arrests and 83 convictions (with some cases still pending as of June 2007).

A 1997 U.S. Justice Department survey of 14,285 state prison inmates found that among those inmates who carried a firearm during the offense for which they were sent to jail, 0.7% obtained the firearm at a gun show, 1% at a flea market, 3.8% from a pawn shop, 8.3% from a retail store, 39.2% through an illegal/street source, and 39.6% through family or friends.

	Total Contributions	Donations to Democrats	Donations to Republicans	Percent to Democrats	Percent to Republicans
Gun Rights	$22,467,579	$3,231,405	$19,195,400	14%	85%
Gun Control	$1,888,886	$1,776,310	$112,326	94%	6%

To read the entire article and see additional charts and statistics, click on Gun Control Facts.

Full citation: “Gun Control Facts.” By James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith. Just Facts, September 13, 2010. Revised 2/11/13.

Don Kates and Gary Mauser wrote about the correlation between the amount of guns and the amount of deaths across different countries.

European Gun Ownership and Murder Rates
(rates given are per 100,000 people and in descending order)
Nation	Murder Rate	Rate of Gun Ownership
Russia	20.54 [2002]	4,000
Luxembourg	9.01 [2002]	c. 0
Hungary	2.22 [2003]	2,000
Finland	1.98 [2004]	39,000
Sweden	1.87 [2001]	24,000
Poland	1.79 [2003]	1,500
France	1.65 [2003]	30,000
Denmark	1.21 [2003]	19,000
Greece	1.12 [2003]	11,000
Switzerland	0.99 [2003]	16,000
Germany	0.93 [2003]	30,000
Norway	0.81 [2001]	36,000
Austria	0.80 [2002]	17,000

Eastern Europe Gun Ownership and Murder Rates
(rates given are per 100,000 people and in descending order)
Nation	Murder Rate	Year	Rate of Gun Ownership
Russia	20.54	[2002]	4,000
Moldova	8.13	[2000]	1,000
Slovakia	2.65	[2000]	3,000
Romania	2.5	[2000]	300
Macedonia	2.31	[2000]	16,000
Hungary	2.22	[2003]	2,000
Finland	1.98	[2004]	39,000
Poland	1.79	[2003]	1,500
Slovenia	1.81	[2000]	5,000
Cz. Republic	1.69	[2000]	5,000
Greece	1.12	[2003]	11,000

Intentional Deaths: United States vs. Continental Europe Rates
In order of highest combined rate; nations having higher rates than the United States are indicated by asterisk (suicide rate) or + sign (murder rate).
Nation	Suicide	Murder	Combined rates
Russia	41.2*	30.6+	71.8
Estonia	40.1*	22.2+	62.3
Latvia	40.7*	18.2+	58.9
Lithuania	45.6*	11.7+	57.3
Belarus	27.9*	10.4+	38.3
Hungary	32.9*	3.5	36.4
Ukraine	22.5*	11.3+	33.8
Slovenia	28.4*	2.4	30.4
Finland	27.2*	2.9	30.1
Denmark	22.3*	4.9	27.2
Croatia	22.8*	3.3	26.1
Austria	22.2*	1.0	23.2
Bulgaria	17.3*	5.1	22.4
France	20.8*	1.1	21.9
Switzerland	21.4*	1.1	24.1
Belgium	18.7*	1.7	20.4
United States	11.6	7.8	19.4
Poland	14.2*	2.8	17.0
Germany	15.8*	1.1	16.9
Romania	12.3*	4.1	16.4
Sweden	15.3*	1.0	16.3
Norway	12.3*	0.8	13.1
Holland	9.8	1.2	11.0
Italy	8.2	1.7	9.9
Portugal	8.2	1.7	9.9
Spain	8.1	0.9	9.0
Greece	3.3	1.3	4.6

To read the entire report, click on Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide?

Arkadi Gerney, Chelsea Parsons, and Charles Posner in April 2013 from the Center for American Progress wrote about the 50 U.S. states and the correlation between gun violence and gun laws.

Click on the chart below to see an enlarged, clearer chart.

Comparison of Average Rates of Gun-Violence Outcomes in States with Strong and Weak Gun Laws

To read the entire report, click on America Under the Gun.

Distribution of Income & Wealth

Posted by truthfulpolitics.com Economic Performance, Taxes Comments Off

Apr 212013

This article contains information and statistics from several sources about income and/or wealth distribution in the United States.

G. William Domhoff in February of 2013 wrote about the distribution on income & wealth in the U.S.A. The definition of wealth used in the article is the value of everything a person or family owns, minus any debts.

Income, net worth, and financial worth in the U.S. by percentile, in 2010 dollars

Wealth or income class	Mean household income	Mean household net worth	Mean household financial (non-home) wealth
Top 1 percent	$1,318,200	$16,439,400	$15,171,600
Top 20 percent	$226,200	$2,061,600	$1,719,800
60th-80th percentile	$72,000	$216,900	$100,700
40th-60th percentile	$41,700	$61,000	$12,200
Bottom 40 percent	$17,300	-$10,600	-$14,800

Net worth and financial wealth distribution in the U.S. in 2010

2011 U.S. Federal Government Spending by Agency

Income and wealth by race in the U.S.

2011 U.S. Federal Government Spending by Agency

CEOs’ pay as a multiple of the average worker’s pay, 1960-2007

2011 U.S. Federal Government Spending by Agency

CEOs’ average pay, production workers’ average pay, the S&P 500 Index, corporate profits, and the federal minimum wage, 1990-2005 (all figures adjusted for inflation)

2011 U.S. Federal Government Spending by Agency

Distribution of Income:

In 2008, 13,480 individuals or families made over $10 million.
19% of the income reported by those individuals or families came from wages and salaries.

Distribution of income in the United States, 1982-2006

	Income
	Top 1 percent	Next 19 percent	Bottom 80 percent
1982	12.8%	39.1%	48.1%
1988	16.6%	38.9%	44.5%
1991	15.7%	40.7%	43.7%
1994	14.4%	40.8%	44.9%
1997	16.6%	39.6%	43.8%
2000	20.0%	38.7%	41.4%
2003	17.0%	40.8%	42.2%
2006	21.3%	40.1%	38.6%
2009	17.2%	41.9%	40.9%

Distribution of Wealth:

As of 2010, the top 1% of households owned 35.4% of all privately held wealth
The next 19% of households had 53.5%
Therefore, 20% of the people owned 89% (35.4% + 53.5%).
Thus, the bottom 80% of people owned 11% of the wealth.
1.6% of Americans receive $100,000 or more in inheritance.
1.1% receive $50,000 to $100,000.
The remaining 91.9% receive $0.

Share of wealth held by the Bottom 99% and Top 1% in the United States, 1922-2010.

	Bottom 99 percent	Top 1 percent
1922	63.3%	36.7%
1929	55.8%	44.2%
1933	66.7%	33.3%
1939	63.6%	36.4%
1945	70.2%	29.8%
1949	72.9%	27.1%
1953	68.8%	31.2%
1962	68.2%	31.8%
1965	65.6%	34.4%
1969	68.9%	31.1%
1972	70.9%	29.1%
1976	80.1%	19.9%
1979	79.5%	20.5%
1981	75.2%	24.8%
1983	69.1%	30.9%
1986	68.1%	31.9%
1989	64.3%	35.7%
1992	62.8%	37.2%
1995	61.5%	38.5%
1998	61.9%	38.1%
2001	66.6%	33.4%
2004	65.7%	34.3%
2007	65.4%	34.6%
2010	64.6%	35.4%

Percentage of wealth held in 2000 by the Top 10% of the adult population in various Western countries

	wealth owned by top 10%
Switzerland	71.3%
United States	69.8%
Denmark	65.0%
France	61.0%
Sweden	58.6%
UK	56.0%
Canada	53.0%
Norway	50.5%
Germany	44.4%
Finland	42.3%

Distribution of Taxes:

When all taxes (not just income taxes) are taken into account:

The lowest 20% of earners (who average about $12,400 per year) paid 16.0% of their income to various forms of taxes in 2009
The next 20% (about $25,000/year) paid 20.5% in taxes
The middle 20% (about $33,400/year) paid 25.3% in taxes
The next 20%, (about $66,000/year) paid 28.5% in taxes
The next 10%, (about $100,000/year) paid 30.2% in taxes
The next 5% ($141,000/year) paid 31.2% in taxes
The next 4% ($245,000/year) paid 31.6% in taxes
The top 1% (those who take in $1.3 million per year on average) paid 30.8% of their income to taxes.

Share of income paid as tax, including local and state tax

U.S.A. Income Inequality Compared to Other Countries:

“The degree of income inequality in the United States can be compared to that in other countries on the basis of the Gini coefficient, a mathematical ratio that allows economists to put all countries on a scale with values that range (hypothetically) from zero (everyone in the country has the same income) to 100 (one person in the country has all the income).”

Income equality in selected countries

Country/Overall Rank	Gini Coefficient
1. Sweden	23.0
2. Norway	25.0
8. Austria	26.0
10. Germany	27.0
17. Denmark	29.0
25. Australia	30.5
34. Italy	32.0
35. Canada	32.1
37. France	32.7
42. Switzerland	33.7
43. United Kingdom	34.0
45. Egypt	34.4
56. India	36.8
61. Japan	38.1
68. Israel	39.2
81. China	41.5
82. Russia	42.3
90. Iran	44.5
93. United States	45.0
107. Mexico	48.2
125. Brazil	56.7
133. South Africa	65.0

To read the entire article, click on Wealth, Income, and Power.

David Cay Johnston in Reuters in October 2011 wrote the following:

About half of Americans paid no income taxes in 2009
The top 1 percent of Americans paid about 37 percent of the income taxes
Households “making less than $75,000 collectively paid more federal income tax than those making $1 million or more”
Income “taxed at the next-to-lowest rate, 15 percent, brought in more government revenue than all capital gains taxes plus the two top brackets, which apply only to the top 2 percent of earners”
Almost “half of the top 1 percent made less than $500,000” and five out of six of the top 1% made less than $1 million
“Someone at the entry point for the top 1 percent would need 29 years to make $10 million, and more than 2,900 years to make $1 billion”
The “top one-in-a-thousand taxpayers had average income in recent years that ranged between $5.2 million and $7.5 million annually. Just investing that much in corporate bonds will produce enough interest income to keep someone in the top 1 percent.”
“The top 1 percent paid an average income tax rate of 24 percent in 2009, IRS data shows. That is almost exactly the rate paid by those making $500,000 to $1 million. Those who made $1 million to $10 million paid a higher rate, 26 percent. But those making more than $10 million paid a significantly lower rate, 23.3 percent.”
“The top 400 taxpayers paid a much lower rate. On an average income of $270 million each, their effective federal income tax rate was 18.1 percent in 2008, the latest year for which we have IRS data. A single worker earning less than $90,000 pays a higher rate than that.”

To read the entire article, click on Beyond the 1 percent.

According to the U.S. Census, 1.9% of all households earn more than $250,000 annually. To view the table, click on Income Distribution to $250,000 or More for Households: 2007.

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