20% of Households Bear 100% of Net Tax Burden

We have already covered the fact that 20% of US households pay 94% of Federal income taxes. The Congressional Budget Office's latest report "The Distribution of Household Income and
Federal Taxes" provides new insight into how the burdens of taxation and the distribution of government payments fall. Mark Perry created this useful summary chart from that data. What it shows is that the entire net burden of the government taxation and redistribution machine falls on the 20% of households with the highest market income (roughly $80,000+ of Adjusted Gross Income) and that 60% of households are net recipients of government monies. But according to the President that top quintile of earners just isn't paying their "fair share".



Note: Transfer payments are payments and benefits from federal, state and local governments including Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance., Federal taxes paid by households include income, payroll, corporate, and excise taxes.