Putting A Face On America’s Tax Returns: Summary
Who really bears the burden of federal taxes? How progressive is our current tax system and what role do taxes play in the debate over income inequality?
5 min read
All Related Articles
New Report Shows the Burdens of Payroll and Income Taxes
The tax burden for most Americans in 2019 –67.8 percent—will come primarily from payroll taxes, not income taxes. While the income tax is progressive, with average rates rising with income, the payroll tax is regressive, with the highest average rate falling on Americans with the lowest incomes.
4 min read
Average Income Tends to Rise with Age
Average income tends to rise dramatically as someone ages and gains education and experience. Viewing just one year of income tax data without digging any deeper misses some crucial context.
2 min read
Increasing Individual Income Tax Rates Would Impact a Majority of US Businesses
Since most U.S. businesses are pass-through businesses, such as partnerships, S corporations, LLCs, and sole proprietorships, changes to the individual income tax, especially to top marginal rates, can affect a business’s incentives to invest, hire, and produce.
4 min read
A Growing Percentage of Americans Have Zero Income Tax Liability
From 1986 to 2016, the top 1 percent’s share of income taxes rose from 25.8 percent to 37.3 percent, while the bottom 90 percent’s share fell from 45.3 percent to 30.5 percent.
4 min read
How Do Transfers and Progressive Taxes Affect the Distribution of Income?
Federal tax rates vary by income group and tax source. The federal tax system redistributes income from high- and low-income taxpayers.
3 min read
Analysis of the “SALT Act”
Lawmakers recently introduced a bill to repeal the $10,000 cap on the state and local deduction (SALT) and raise the top tax rate on ordinary income from 37 percent to 39.6 percent.
4 min read
New Mexico Tax Increase Package Advances
7 min read
Arkansas Chips Away at Tax Reform
3 min read
Analysis of the Cost-of-Living Refund Act of 2019
We estimate that a new proposal to expand the EITC would reduce federal revenue by $1.8 trillion and decrease long-run GDP by 0.29 percent, while boosting labor force participation for low-income tax filers by 822,788 full-time equivalent jobs.
10 min read
The Top 1 Percent’s Tax Rates Over Time
In the 1950s, when the top marginal income tax rate reached 92 percent, the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid an effective rate of only 16.9 percent. As top marginal rates have fallen, the tax burden on the rich has risen.
5 min read