The Internal Revenue Service has released tax statistics for 2006. You can view them yourself, at the IRS site. Having neither the time nor the mental energy to sort it all out, however, I'm glad the tax folks at J.K. Lasser have done the job already, and I'm going to take their word for it. You are welcome to take my word for their word, if you'd like.
How rich—or poor—do you think you are? Are you paying your fair share of taxes? What about the other guy? Forget, for the moment, comparison with the rest of the world—how do you compare with your fellow Americans? Statistics are slippery things, so take these as you will. Bear in mind, also, that the percentages given here are based on the number of income tax filers; anyone who did not file an income tax return for the year 2006 is not counted, and neither is any money made in underground economy. AGI = Adjusted Gross Income, Line 37 on Form 1040.
| Share of Total | Share of Total | Average | ||
| % of Filers | AGI Threshold | AGI | Income Tax | Tax Rate |
| Top 1% | $388,806 | 22.06% | 39.89% | 22.79% |
| Top 5% | $153,542 | 36.66% | 60.14% | 20.68% |
| Top 10% | $108,904 | 47.32% | 70.79% | 18.86% |
| Top 25% | $64,702 | 68.16% | 86.27% | 15.95% |
| Top 50% | $31,987 | 87.49% | 97.01% | 13.98% |
| Bottom 50% | under $31,987 | 12.51% | 2.99% | 3.01% |
A few intereting things to note. For simplicity, I'm using terms like "income," "taxes," and "population" loosely; remember that the statistics are for AGI, Federal income taxes, and those who file Federal income tax forms.
- Half the tax filers have an AGI of under $32,000.
- The bottom 50% earns less than 13% of the total income, while the top 1% earns 22%.
- Forty percent of all income tax revenues come from the top 1%.
- Half the population (more, when you count non-filers) pays less than 3% of the taxes.
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