And the bottom 20%? They get paid by Uncle Sam. We compare tax burdens as Tax Day approaches.
By
LAURA SAUNDERS
April 10, 2015 9:59 a.m. ET
Who pays what in income taxes? With April 15 just around the corner, filers may be curious about where they fit into the system as a whole.
The individual income tax remains the most important levy in the U.S., providing nearly half of federal revenue. This is unusual: On average, developed nations get only one-third of their revenue from income taxes. Typically they also impose national consumption taxes, such as a value-added tax, that raise as much revenue as their income tax.
The pressure on the U.S. income tax has prompted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to seriously consider a national consumption tax. But liberals worry that such a levy could unduly burden the poor, while conservatives fear it would be too easy to dial up the rate and collect more revenue.
As a result, experts say, there is little chance of tax overhaul this year.
Meanwhile, these two tables offer a snapshot of who is paying what for the 2014 tax year.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-20-of-earners-pay-84-of-income-tax-1428674384
But the good unions of NJ want to say thank you to these taxpayers by raising state income taxes 21% on these top 20% of taxpayers who already pay 84% of the taxes, and also raising the gasoline tax 25c a gallon, and the NJ state sales tax by 10%. Why? To pay for their free $26,000 health care plans and full pensions from their early 50s. Tax the rest of us to death in the state that already has the highest state + local taxes in the entire nation. And then when you call them on it and point out how absurd it is for the rest of us to be subsidizing their free healthcare and bailing out their failed pension plans, all they do is whine because the status quo is a gravy train for union thugs.