FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IRS Makes Available Latest Tax Collections Data (2004 Tax Year) Broken Down by Income Category or Percentile, Once Again Dispelling the Myth that the Rich Don’t Pay Tax
With little fanfare, the IRS has published the latest version of one of their most revealing data sets; the collections data by percentile, for the 2004 tax year, which shows conclusively that the wealthy pay far more in taxes, per dollar earned, than the poor or middle class.
Houston, Texas (ActionAmerica.org) September 21, 2006 – The latest IRS data totally dispels the popular myth that the rich don’t pay tax. The annual IRS collections data (for the 2004 tax year), broken down by income category or “percentiles”, shows that while the top earning five percent of income earners only earn roughly a third (35%) of all income, they pay well over half (57%) of the tax collected.
Every year, between September and February, the IRS very quietly releases the most recent information concerning its tax collections, based on income category or "percentiles". Therefore, each year, in order to keep this important information from being lost among the volumes of inconsequential data released by the IRS, the webzine, ActionAmerica.org, watches for this data to be published and reprints the most recent data in an easy to read format, along with links to the source data. ActionAmerica.org then announces to the world, the availability of this crucial information that conclusively shatters some popular myths.
John Gaver, Editor of ActionAmerica.org points out that, “This data is not some massaged projection, with no basis in reality, but represents monies actually collected by the IRS, for the given tax years.” It takes about two years for the IRS to compile this data, so this year, the new numbers are for the 2004 tax year.
In that year, there were 130.4 million returns filed, representing a total of $6.875 trillion dollars in AGI and $831.89 million dollars in taxes collected. Out of that, the most reviled taxpayers – the wealthiest 1% of income earners (those who earned more than $328,049) – paid $306.9 million in taxes or more than a third of the tax load, while only earning 19% of the income. This translates to almost double heir share of taxes, based upon income earned.
“This is interesting,” said Gaver “in that it totally dispels the popular myth that there are so many loopholes in the tax code that the rich don’t pay taxes. In fact, it clearly demonstrates that our most productive citizens are actually being heavily punished, for their success. Is it any wonder why so many wealthy Americans are moving themselves and their money offshore?”
The new IRS data also dispels the myth that the Bush tax cuts benefited the rich. In fact, the most relevant benchmark of tax load, the ratio of percent of total income earned, to the percent of total tax paid, by the top-earning 1% of income earners, has been higher in each of the years 2001 through 2004 (1.93, 2.09, 2.04, 1.94, respectively), than in any of the prior four years (1.91. 1.88, 1.85 1.80, respectively). Regardless of how some politicians may try to spin the data, when one pays an increasing amount of the total tax load, based upon his share of income earned, that amounts to a tax increase.
For additional information on IRS collections data by percentile, contact John Gaver or see the ActionAmerica.org article, “1986-2004 IRS Collections Data by Income Category (Percentile)”, at http://www.ActionAmerica.org/taxecon/irsdata.shtml.
ActionAmerica.org is a popular, non-profit, conservative/libertarian webzine, known for its uncompromising stand for original intent of the Constitution, the Rule of Law and for fiscal conservatism. ActionAmerica.org is also known for the abundance of links to reputable sources that are provided throughout most of their articles and for being a long term, outspoken supporter of the FAIR Tax, as the only responsible, fair and revenue neutral replacement for the income tax and IRS.
Contact:
John Gaver
Editor & Publisher
ActionAmerica.org
(281) 354-4888
http://www.ActionAmerica.org/feedback.shtml
