US billionaires pay lower tax rate than working class for first time in history

[DukeOfWoodBerry]

-The 400 richest U.S. families now pay a lower overall tax rate than the middle-class, the first time that's happened in 100 years, according to economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman.
Factoring in federal, state and local taxes, those ultra-wealthy households pay a total rate of about 23% — that compares with just over 24% for the bottom half of households.
-The U.S. now "looks like the tax system of a plutocracy," Saez and Zucman say.
-The U.S. tax system is supposed to be progressive, meaning that wealthier households pay a larger share of their income to the taxman than the middle class and the poor. Yet after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, that's no longer the case: For the first time in a century, America's 400 richest families now pay lower taxes than people in the middle class.


That's according to an analysis of tax data by two prominent economists, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman of the University of California at Berkeley, that is a centerpiece of their new book, "The Triumph of Injustice," to be published on October 15. Saez and Zucman, who have worked with the noted French economist Thomas Piketty to produce seminal research on inequality, also advised Senator Elizabeth Warren on the Democratic presidential candidate's plan to impose a wealth tax on ultra-rich families.

The tipping point came last year when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump at the end of 2017, took effect. While Mr. Trump vowed that middle-class families would be helped by the tax overhaul, experts say most working-class families saw only a minimal benefit, while the wealthiest citizens got the lion's share of breaks. In fact, Saez and Zucman argue, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act turned the tax system on its head.

"In 2018, for the first time in the last hundred years, the top 400 richest Americans have paid lower tax rates than the working class," they write. "This looks like the tax system of a plutocracy."

Factoring in all federal, state and local taxes, those ultra-wealthy households pay a total rate of about 23% — that compares with 24.2% for the bottom half of households, which includes many in the middle class. The richest families also pay a lower rate than those in the upper middle class and even those in the top 1%, who pay closer to 30% of their income in taxes.

Why do the super-rich pay lower taxes?
Zucman and Saez, who base their analysis on income tax returns, tax audits and other data, argue that in recent decades the tax system has tilted in favor of the highest earners, with the most recent push coming from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

"In 1970, the richest Americans paid, all taxes included, more than 50% of their income in taxes, twice as much as working-class individuals," the book notes. "In 2018, following the Trump tax reform, and for the first time in the last hundred years, billionaires have paid less than steel workers, schoolteachers and retirees."

Today, the tax rates enjoyed by the richest Americans are at levels last seen in the early part of the 20th century, when the U.S. government was a fraction of its current size. In 1910, many popular programs credited with keeping millions of Americans out of poverty didn't exist, including Social Security and Medicare.

The rich pay lower tax rates than the middle class because most of their income doesn't come from wages, unlike most workers. Instead, the bulk of billionaires' income stems from capital, such as investments like stocks and bonds, which enjoy a lower tax rate than income. It's the same reason why Warren Buffett famously said his tax rate was lower than his secretary's.

The 2017 tax law amplified that trend, according to the new analysis. The tax rate for corporations was slashed to 21% from from 37%. And business income for many taxpayers now enjoys a 20% deduction, thanks to the new tax code, which places more income out of the IRS' reach.

"The only category of income that does not benefit from any exemption, deduction, reduced rate or any other favor is wages," Zucman and Saez write. "At any income level, wage earners are thus more heavily taxed than people who derive income from property."

In effect, they add, capital income "is becoming tax-free."

Why it matters
Although advocates of low taxes argue that slashing rates on the rich and corporations boosts economic growth, there's little evidence for that. Instead, the U.S. is facing a number of risks by shifting to a more regressive tax system, the authors say.

For one, the federal government is losing out on a massive amount of tax revenue by slashing levies on the rich. Secondly, that lost revenue must be found elsewhere, which means the middle class and poor are likely to be stuck footing the bill.

But the most important reason, according to Zucman and Saez, is that the U.S. tax system is creating what they call an "inequality spiral." In other words, the rich are getting richer — that allows them to shape public policies to extract further tax breaks and other benefits, boosting their wealth and political clout.

Of course, tax codes can change, which means the U.S. isn't doomed to sink more deeply into the quagmire of inequality, Zucman and Saez write. For instance, the economists propose a new national income tax that would tax all income — whether from labor, capital or other sources — as a supplement to the existing income tax. The also favor a wealth tax.

The latter, similar to proposals from both Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders, would tax annual wealth at 2% for those above $50 million and 3.5% above $1 billion.

"A wealth tax will never replace the income tax," they note. "Its goal is more limited: to ensure that the ultra-wealthy do not pay less than the rest of the population."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/america...-middle-class/

I don't agree with everything in the article but it's no surprise the tax bill wasn't very popular. Should have listened to Steve Bannon and cut corporate taxes and taxes for the middle class to spur the economy and increase taxes on the wealthy. This is the result when you have Gary Cohn and Goldman Sachs executives in your cabinet formulating policy.

[Mark1T]

Damn successful people who provide jobs and innovation. Damn success and the American Dream.

[DukeOfWoodBerry]

Damn successful people who provide jobs and innovation. Damn success and the American Dream.

Evidence that lower tax rates for billionaires spurs the economy?

Are you aware of the law of diminishing marginal utility? That's the reason a progressive tax system makes sense.

[StoliFun]

Damn successful people who provide jobs and innovation. Damn success and the American Dream.

This is reductive even for you, poindexter.

[SillieBazzillie]

Damn successful people who provide jobs and innovation. Damn success and the American Dream.

Scrape up those crumbs quickly boyo. Don't want to offend your elite masters with your serf presence.

[backinbusiness]

While I agree in theory taxes should be lower, I believes there’s a middle ground.

Problem is that liberals want to tax the richest into oblivion and they stupidly assume they’ll just take it - that money will just go offshore and be invested in businesses abroad

[Techriding101]

Doesnt the top 1% already pay like 80% of the taxes?

Our government had a spending problem. Even when taxes go up it just will be funneled back to their friends/political cronies.

[Vito-C]

Looks like Trump cucked us boyos

What now

[Mark1T]

This is reductive even for you, poindexter.

Painful humor is sometimes necessary to make a point. I don't give a shiit if you don't agree. But, from your recent posts, I am not surprised that you have no vision.

The socialists like Bernie and Warren, who is close, want class warfare to further their cause. They want their audience to believe that they have no future except to be average with a "living wage." They don't like people who have ambition. So, they create a dialogue to make weak people like you believe that success is a bad thing and that everyone should be equal in income. Working for myself and never taking out loans or free-loading off of people, I resent this attempt at controlling people to eventually dove-tail into socialism.

Is it that hard to figure out my point? This goes for Sillie and Duke, as well.

[isingmodel]

Damn successful people who provide jobs and innovation. Damn success and the American Dream.

Bootlicking is one thing, but I've never seen anyone deepthroat the whole boot

[Gringo12]

They still pay something like 90% of the total tax in the country lmao


Go on, raise their taxes and watch them leave the country, taking their jobs with them. The only people that care about billionaires tax rates are unemployed uni students. I'm sure people are more happy having a job than having a billionaire paying more tax.

[Mark1T]

Bootlicking is one thing, but I've never seen anyone deepthroat the whole boot

Same post as above, you socialist fuk.

Painful humor is sometimes necessary to make a point. I don't give a shiit if you don't agree. But, from your recent posts, I am not surprised that you have no vision.

The socialists like Bernie and Warren, who is close, want class warfare to further their cause. They want their audience to believe that they have no future except to be average with a "living wage." They don't like people who have ambition. So, they create a dialogue to make weak people like you believe that success is a bad thing and that everyone should be equal in income. Working for myself and never taking out loans or free-loading off of people, I resent this attempt at controlling people to eventually dove-tail into socialism.

Is it that hard to figure out my point? This goes for Sillie and Duke, as well.

[isingmodel]

Did not read lol.

[Mark1T]

Cannot read lol.

Obvious.

[isingmodel]

For gods sake why won't someone please **** my wife.

No thanks, jeff. Ask one of your billionaire overlords.

[isingmodel]

Evidence that lower tax rates for billionaires spurs the economy?

Are you aware of the law of diminishing marginal utility? That's the reason a progressive tax system makes sense.

None of course. Even US GDP growth (which is the only thing republicans think = prosperity) was much higher in the years where effective tax rate on the wealthiest was higher.

Guys like Mark1T though can't process these things. Their only purpose in life is to ensure corporate oligarchs never run out of toilet paper.

[IPoopStandingUp]

The tone of the article makes it seem they are more interested in hurting the rich than actually helping the poor or middle class.

[messomi]

I already said this would happen here several times if you are still defending this at this point you deserve everything you have being stolen from you meanwhile I a now 100% sure the middle class will disappear this isn't even speculating anymore.

there will be no crumbs left whatsoever.

[Dan_S]

This sounds like bullchit to me. I'd love to see their numbers.

24%? My household income is about 3 times the median and we only pay like 15% marginal rate, for all taxes (FICA, federal, state, local).

[OPGenesis]

Damn successful people who provide jobs and innovation. Damn success and the American Dream.

I love you, bro. But you’re better than this.

[Ikeman83]

We tax income and purchases in the US, not assets. (Except real estate at a low rate)

Billionaires aren't out working a 9-5.

Now post what percentage of all taxes those 400 families paid.

[Mark1T]

I'm British, giving the US advice from the public library.

I'll continue to run my business in all 50 States while you and your butt-buddies try to move up to a living wage and worry about billionaires.

[SillieBazzillie]

We tax income and purchases in the US, not assets. (Except real estate at a low rate)

Billionaires aren't out working a 9-5.

Now post what percentage of all taxes those 400 families paid.

Now post what % of income those 400 generated.

[Godfrd824]

This is an easy fix, flat rate tax for everyone. Or no income tax, but a huge increase in sales taxes.

[JoshSP1985]

Doesnt the top 1% already pay like 80% of the taxes?

Our government had a spending problem. Even when taxes go up it just will be funneled back to their friends/political cronies.

Yeah but that hurts my feels when 50% of the population pays 0% effective taxes and the middle class pay a few thousand when these big cats are paying hundreds of millions.

[Ikeman83]

None of course. Even US GDP growth (which is the only thing republicans think = prosperity) was much higher in the years where effective tax rate on the wealthiest was higher.

Guys like Mark1T though can't process these things. Their only purpose in life is to ensure corporate oligarchs never run out of toilet paper.

You mean right after WWII, when every competing economy was literally rubble?

I guess we can go to a 70% tax rate if you want to bomb 3/4 of the planet but I'm not sure about the optics...

[chaunce54]

Sounds like they need to lower taxes on the working class then...

[ImBunky]

You too can lower you tax rate, if you save and invest (if you're any good at it).

[isingmodel]

You mean right after WWII, when every competing economy was literally rubble?


I guess we can go to a 70% tax rate if you want to bomb 3/4 of the planet but I'm not sure about the optics...

Real GDP growth remained significantly higher than it is today throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s, through both the New Deals and Eisenhowers infrastructure reforms.

Economists have known for a fairly long while that cutting taxes on the richest does not spur economic growth (not that GDP growth is in any way a good measure of prosperity in the first place). The neoliberal economics that has been in place since the 80s has been an abject failure in every sense, particularly for working americans. The only people still pushing for this garbage are the useful idiot subservient pawns like Mark1T to whom facts don't matter.

[JoshSP1985]

None of course. Even US GDP growth (which is the only thing republicans think = prosperity) was much higher in the years where effective tax rate on the wealthiest was higher.

Guys like Mark1T though can't process these things. Their only purpose in life is to ensure corporate oligarchs never run out of toilet paper.

Thought this was debunked where effective tax rates were shown to be similar to where they are today.

You can levy 100% tax rates on the rich if you want but if you give them vehicles to reduce that to 25% lets say what's the point?