Sunday, May 08, 2011

Do the rich pay more than their fair share of taxes?

From Paul Krugman
As the CBO has documented, what we’ve seen over the past 30 years is a dramatic shift of income toward the top, with the richest Americans sharply increasing their share of pre-tax income. It’s highly likely that government policies, from financial deregulation to union-busting, have played an important role in that growing income concentration.

At the same time, tax rates on top income have fallen, and by more than tax rates on lower incomes. But the rise in the top share has been so great that high-income Americans pay a larger share of total taxes than they used to despite tax policy that favors their interests.

And the new cry from the hired hands of the rich is that it’s unfair that the wealthy should pay such a large share of taxes.
In other words, think of it this way. If the top 1% of earners earned 99% of all the money people earned, they would be paying at least 99% of all the taxes people pay. Does that mean they are paying too much and the rest of us are paying too little? That's what the Republicans claim. But then as Brad DeLong always says, Republicans lie—all the time—about everything.

2 comments:

ceiling fans with lights said...

Sometimes rich people are not honest of the assets and liabilities they are posting. It really pays to be a good man if you are a good taxpayer. And eventually there are some who are not exactly paying the desired amount for the tax.

atlanta gutter repair said...

Taxes are to be pay annually, this is important to help develop certain countries. That is why taxes are helpful to improve the infrastructures of the countries.