Paying the “Fair Share”

President Obama has claimed that top earners are not paying “their fair share” under the current tax laws. According to a recent article published in Forbes Magazine, however, data on taxes paid by various income groups may prove otherwise. A breakdown of taxes paid in 2009, according to IRS data from that year, is below:

• Average earners, those in the top 25%-50% of earners (individuals with incomes between $32,396 and $66,193) represented 20.7% of all income.
• The top 1% of earners (individuals with incomes of $343,927 or more) represented 16.9% of all income.
• The top .01% of earners (individuals with incomes of $1,432,890 or more) represented 7.8% of all income.
• Average earners paid 11.0% of all taxes.
• The top 1% paid 36.7% of all federal taxes.
• The top .01% paid 17.11% of all taxes.
• Average earners had an average tax rate of 5.5%.
• The top 1% had an average tax rate of 24.01%.
• The top .01% had an average tax rate of 24.3%.

For more on tax rates for various income groups, see Harry Jacobson, The Facts On Tax Rates: Who Pays What, Forbes, Jan. 31, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.