Just because you have a zero or negative federal income tax rate doesn't mean you don't pay any taxes in the US. These people are still paying 7.65% payroll ta

Just because you have a zero or negative federal income tax rate doesn't mean you don't pay any taxes in the US. These people are still paying 7.65% payroll taxes on that income, sales tax, property tax, and the seemingly endless list of other taxes and government imposed fees we all pay on many other services. Since most social welfare programs are funded by a combination of federal and state taxes I don't think the number of people paying federal income tax is meaningful one way or the other.