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America has one of the most progressive tax system of any country. https://taxfoundation.org/summary-of-the-latest-federal-income-tax-data-2020-update/ https:/
by Aunche 5y ago
America has one of the most progressive tax system of any country.
https://taxfoundation.org/summary-of-the-latest-federal-income-tax-data-2020-update/ https://taxfoundation.org/summary-of-the-latest-federal-inco...
>The top 1 percent paid a greater share of individual income taxes (38.5 percent) than the bottom 90 percent combined (29.9 percent).
IMO, this is one of this is why the American government seems so bad at spending money. It's not their money, so there's little incentive to care if it's misappropriated.
- trainsplanes 5y agoWhat percent of wealth does the top 1% possess vs the bottom 90 percent combined? Wikipedia says the top 1% possesses precisely 38.5% of the country's wealth, so it's more than reasonable that they shoulder at least 38.5% of the taxes. [1] This stat is also from 2016. That divide has grown immensely these past few years. The stat the Tax Foundation presents is made to make us sympathetic towards people who control basically the entire nation's wealth and pay, frankly, very little. There's a reason they're not putting their wealth in the EU or developed Asian countries--they'd be paying more. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_Unite...
- Aunche 5y agoIncome and this income taxes are first derivatives of wealth. It doesn't make sense to directly compare the two. The wealthy spend relatively little of their wealth on discretionary spending.
- sobellian 5y agoOrdinary income is not the first derivative of wealth, capital gains also contribute.
- trainsplanes 5y ago>The wealthy spend relatively little of their wealth on discretionary spending. So they have unnecessary wealth just sitting around that they don't need.