Conservatively Speaking
State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents parts of four counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth. Her Senate District 28 includes New Berlin, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, Muskego, Waterford, Big Bend, the town of Vernon and parts of Greenfield, East Troy, and Mukwonago. Senator Lazich has been in the Legislature for more than a decade. She considers herself a tireless crusader for lower taxes, reduced spending and smaller government.
Our country’s wealthy continue to pay the most taxes
The Tax Foundation in Washington D.C. released a report, using Internal Revenue Service data, showing the amount residents of each income group in each state send to Washington each year. Here are some of the numbers for Wisconsin.
Federal Income Taxes paid by Wisconsin by Adjusted Gross Income Percentile 2006 in $millions:
TOTAL: $16, 278
TOP 1%: $5,753
TOP 2-5%: $2,997
TOP 5%: $8,750
TOP 6-10%: $1,697
TOP 10%: $10,447
TOP 11-25%: $2,765
TOP 25%: $13,212
TOP 26-50%: $2,294
TOP 50%: $15,506
BOTTOM 50%: $772
Percentile’s Share of Federal Income Taxes paid by Wisconsin, 2006
TOTAL: 100%
TOP 1%: 35.34%
TOP 2-5%: 18.41%
TOP 5%: 53.75%
TOP 6-10%: 10.43%
TOP 10%: 64.18%
TOP 11-25%: 16.99%
TOP 25%: 81.16%
TOP 26-50%: 14.09%
TOP 50%: 95.26%
BOTTOM 50%: 4.74%
Here are the numbers for the United States.
Federal Income Taxes paid by the United States by Adjusted Gross Income Percentile 2006 in $millions:
TOTAL: $999,506
TOP 1%: $394,066
TOP 2-5%: $203,797
TOP 5%: $597,863
TOP 6-10%: $106,327
TOP 10%: $704,190
TOP 11-25%: $156,205
TOP 25%: $860,395
TOP 26-50%: $108,066
TOP 50%: $968,461
BOTTOM 50%: $31,045
Percentile’s Share of Federal Income Taxes paid by the United States, 2006
TOTAL: 100%
TOP 1%: 39.43%
TOP 2-5%: 20.39%
TOP 5%: 59.82%
TOP 6-10%: 10.64%
TOP 10%: 70.45%
TOP 11-25%: 15.63%
TOP 25%: 86.08%
TOP 26-50%: 10.81%
TOP 50%: 96.89%
BOTTOM 50%: 3.11%
The data reveals higher income filers are paying their fair share in taxes. I advise a healthy dose of skepticism anytime you hear an argument that the wealthy should pay more taxes because they don’t pay enough. Here is the new Tax Foundation report.
Last November, I wrote a blog on taxes entitled, America’s wealthy paying more than their fair share. According to a report at the time by the Tax Foundation in Washington D.C., I wrote, “America’s richest 25 percent of taxpayers paid about 86 percent of all federal income taxes in 2005, despite earning only 67 percent of the nation’s income. The highest-earning 1 percent alone—those earning more than $364,657—paid a staggering 39.4 percent of all federal income taxes, despite earning just 21 percent of the nation’s income. That means the top 1 percent of tax returns paid about the same amount of federal income tax as the bottom 95 percent of tax returns combined.”
The Tax Foundation has released an updated report using Internal Revenue Service data on individual income taxes from calendar year 2006. The results are the same: the wealthy are carrying a very heavy tax load.
The Tax Foundation reports, “This year's numbers show that both the income share earned by the top 1 percent of tax returns and the tax share paid by that top 1 percent have once again reached all-time highs. In 2006, the top 1 percent of tax returns paid 39.9 percent of all federal individual income taxes and earned 22.1 percent of adjusted gross income, both are significantly higher than 2004 when the top 1 percent earned 19 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) and paid 36.9 percent of federal individual income taxes.”
Here’s another interesting finding from the report: “The top-earning 25 percent of taxpayers (AGI over $64,702) earned 68.2 percent of the nation's income, but they paid more than four out of every five dollars collected by the federal income tax (86.3 percent). The top 1 percent of taxpayers (AGI over $388,806) earned approximately 22.1 percent of the nation's income (as defined by AGI), yet paid 39.9 percent of all federal income taxes. That means the top 1 percent of tax returns paid about the same amount of federal individual income taxes as the bottom 95 percent of tax returns.”
You can read the entire report here.
The Wall Street Journal also has an editorial.
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