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Look, if the top 1% of people used to share 10% of a country's earnings, but now share 20% of a country's earnings, their relative contribution to total tax rev

Look, if the top 1% of people used to share 10% of a country's earnings, but now share 20% of a country's earnings, their relative contribution to total tax revenue will grow without any change to the tax regime. So you need to consider the change in income distribution alongside any change in relative tax contributions. Otherwise the stats you cite are pretty meaningless

refurb 4y ago
That data is available if you bother to look for it. https://files.taxfoundation.org/20220119175430/The-Top-1-Percents-Share-of-AGI-Fluctuates-with-the-Business-Cycle-Share-of-Adjusted-Gross-Income-by-Income-Group-2001-2019-Summary-of-the-Latest-Federal-Income-Tax-Data-2022-Update.png https://files.taxfoundation.org/20220119175430/The-Top-1-Per... Despite the top 1% total share of income decreasing since 2007, they still pay the same percent of all taxes. Thus the tax burden on the top 1% has increased over time.
- anonymous_sorry 4y ago
  Why pick 2007, except for the fact that it clearly looks like an outlier? It looks to me that the general trend for the top 1% of earners has been a slight increase in both income earned and tax paid
  - refurb 4y ago
    Looking at 2007 was a peak in both income earned and taxes paid. Comparing it to today, income earned (as a %) decreased, yet taxes paid (as a % of total) is about the same. So we can at least say from 2007 to now, tax burden increased.
    - sensenmann 4y ago
      The tax burden for the top 1% _income_ earners can totally increase while the tax burden for the top 1% wealthy decreases (they earn from dividends, not work)
      - refurb 4y ago
        It’s literally in the data link I posted. The top 25% saw their tax burden increase, the bottom 75% decrease.
        sensenmann 4y ago
        According to your link the share of Income of the bottom 75% also decreased. Than it is not surprising to see their tax burden decrease. Also, the trend seems to be the other way around: Tax rates of the top households have continuously decreased. [1] https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2019/10/07/david-leonhardt-rich/ https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2019/10/07/david-l... [1] https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/10/04/us/tax-trump-wealth-promo-1570228395029/tax-trump-wealth-promo-1570228395029-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.png https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/10/04/us/tax-trump-weal... [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/08/first-time-history-us-billionaires-paid-lower-tax-rate-than-working-class-last-year/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/08/first-tim... [2] https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/JA2PZ6DJBFC57D5HWYGFCIA57Q.png https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.c...
    - anonymous_sorry 4y ago
      Probably not a good idea to pick an unusual year as your baseline if you want a reliable conclusion. The trend of both graphs appears to be a modest increase over time, obviously with annual fluctuations.

refurb 4y ago

That data is available if you bother to look for it. https://files.taxfoundation.org/20220119175430/The-Top-1-Percents-Share-of-AGI-Fluctuates-with-the-Business-Cycle-Share-of-Adjusted-Gross-Income-by-Income-Group-2001-2019-Summary-of-the-Latest-Federal-Income-Tax-Data-2022-Update.png https://files.taxfoundation.org/20220119175430/The-Top-1-Per... Despite the top 1% total share of income decreasing since 2007, they still pay the same percent of all taxes. Thus the tax burden on the top 1% has increased over time.

anonymous_sorry 4y ago
Why pick 2007, except for the fact that it clearly looks like an outlier? It looks to me that the general trend for the top 1% of earners has been a slight increase in both income earned and tax paid
- refurb 4y ago
  Looking at 2007 was a peak in both income earned and taxes paid. Comparing it to today, income earned (as a %) decreased, yet taxes paid (as a % of total) is about the same. So we can at least say from 2007 to now, tax burden increased.
  - sensenmann 4y ago
    The tax burden for the top 1% _income_ earners can totally increase while the tax burden for the top 1% wealthy decreases (they earn from dividends, not work)
    - refurb 4y ago
      It’s literally in the data link I posted. The top 25% saw their tax burden increase, the bottom 75% decrease.
      - sensenmann 4y ago
        According to your link the share of Income of the bottom 75% also decreased. Than it is not surprising to see their tax burden decrease. Also, the trend seems to be the other way around: Tax rates of the top households have continuously decreased. [1] https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2019/10/07/david-leonhardt-rich/ https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2019/10/07/david-l... [1] https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/10/04/us/tax-trump-wealth-promo-1570228395029/tax-trump-wealth-promo-1570228395029-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.png https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/10/04/us/tax-trump-weal... [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/08/first-time-history-us-billionaires-paid-lower-tax-rate-than-working-class-last-year/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/08/first-tim... [2] https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/JA2PZ6DJBFC57D5HWYGFCIA57Q.png https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.c...
  - anonymous_sorry 4y ago
    Probably not a good idea to pick an unusual year as your baseline if you want a reliable conclusion. The trend of both graphs appears to be a modest increase over time, obviously with annual fluctuations.