[Vision2020] Who pays US income tax?

[Andreas Schou]

Jeff --

I've been looking for a better way to express what you were getting
at, in terms of the relationship between taxes and income. The top 1%
of Americans makes 18% of the income and pays 27% of the federal
taxes. I'm trying to figure out how you've gotten "over 30%," if not
from the CBO. I'm thinking that it's maybe because the original author
counted EIC against the bottom 20%?

http://www.politicalmathblog.com/?p=270

Your numbers also don't take into account the relationship between
state and federal taxes. States rely on regressive consumption taxes.
Taking into account both state and federal taxes -- and do you have
any reason why we shouldn't? -- the actual graph looks like this.
Taken together, America's tax system is only progressive by a couple
percentage points.

http://lanekenworthy.net/2009/01/05/how-progressive-are-our-taxes/

(Lane Kenworthy is, amongst other things, a Cato Institute fellow.
Which indicates that not all conservatives are dishonest.)

-- ACS