I'm not going to read every response on this thread because it looks like there's a fair amount of bantering back and forth. But, isn't the reason these 400 wealthiest pay such low taxes is because most of it is taxed at the capital gains rate and not the federal income tax rate??? I'm not stating this as fact. I'm asking hoping someone can enlighten me

Heaven forbid only a quarter of their income went to taxes.

How many if those people now live in low(er) tax states? (Notice how your comrade had to group federal state and local taxes to get the desired narrative?)

BINGO!!! I've argued this for years, especially when the Donkeys keep pushing for higher income tax rates. It's bullshit. For the vast, vast, vast majority of us, our "wealth" comes from our salaries. But, the truly wealthy obtain wealth from sources other than income. Team Donkey continues to ignore this and focuses primarily on payroll income tax rates. Foolish.

So, do the wealthiest really pay a lower tax rate than the rest of us? Not really. It's apples to oranges. On their payroll income, they pay significant higher tax rates than the rest of us. But, most of their "income" comes from other sources.

Bingo! This is bullshit. The fact that the rich earn income in a different way doesnt excuse this fact.

There are 12.8 million children living in poverty and here you are defending the capital gains tax rate....

Is English your second language? Serious question.

I have never defended capital gains tax rates and I am not doing so here. In fact, I have gotten into multiple arguments - the last one with Slowman - regarding payroll income tax rates vs. capital gains tax rates and why raising payroll income tax is not the answer.

I need you to go back and read the section I have highlighted above and try, with a straight face, to support your foolish assertion that I am defending the capital gains tax rate.

Is English your second language? Serious question.

I have never defended capital gains tax rates and I am not doing so here. In fact, I have gotten into multiple arguments - the last one with Slowman - regarding payroll income tax rates vs. capital gains tax rates and why raising payroll income tax is not the answer.

I need you to go back and read the section I have highlighted above and try, with a straight face, to support your foolish assertion that I am defending the capital gains tax rate.

I'm sorry, I thought you were explaining why the status quo is acceptable. I agree, let's raise the capital gains tax rate.

Poor Barry the man-pussy is just minding his own bidness and you gotta get all stalky/troll on him

For the first time on record, the 400 wealthiest Americans last year paid a lower total tax rate — spanning federal, state and local taxes — than any other income group, according to newly released data.

Since then, taxes that hit the wealthiest the hardest — like the estate tax and corporate tax — have plummeted, while tax avoidance has become more common.

President Trump’s 2017 tax cut, which was largely a handout to the rich, plays a role, too. It helped push the tax rate on the 400 wealthiest households below the rates for almost everyone else.

The overall tax rate on the richest 400 households last year was only 23 percent, meaning that their combined tax payments equaled less than one quarter of their total income. This overall rate was 70 percent in 1950 and 47 percent in 1980.

For middle-class and poor families, the picture is different. Federal income taxes have also declined modestly for these families, but they haven’t benefited much if at all from the decline in the corporate tax or estate tax. And they now pay more in payroll taxes (which finance Medicare and Social Security) than in the past. Over all, their taxes have remained fairly flat.

The combined result is that over the last 75 years the United States tax system has become radically less progressive.

For the first time on record, the 400 wealthiest Americans last year paid a lower total tax rate — spanning federal, state and local taxes — than any other income group, according to newly released data.

Since then, taxes that hit the wealthiest the hardest — like the estate tax and corporate tax — have plummeted, while tax avoidance has become more common.

President Trump’s 2017 tax cut, which was largely a handout to the rich, plays a role, too. It helped push the tax rate on the 400 wealthiest households below the rates for almost everyone else.

The overall tax rate on the richest 400 households last year was only 23 percent, meaning that their combined tax payments equaled less than one quarter of their total income. This overall rate was 70 percent in 1950 and 47 percent in 1980.

For middle-class and poor families, the picture is different. Federal income taxes have also declined modestly for these families, but they haven’t benefited much if at all from the decline in the corporate tax or estate tax. And they now pay more in payroll taxes (which finance Medicare and Social Security) than in the past. Over all, their taxes have remained fairly flat.

The combined result is that over the last 75 years the United States tax system has become radically less progressive.

For the first time on record, the 400 wealthiest Americans last year paid a lower total tax rate — spanning federal, state and local taxes — than any other income group, according to newly released data.

Since then, taxes that hit the wealthiest the hardest — like the estate tax and corporate tax — have plummeted, while tax avoidance has become more common.

President Trump’s 2017 tax cut, which was largely a handout to the rich, plays a role, too. It helped push the tax rate on the 400 wealthiest households below the rates for almost everyone else.

The overall tax rate on the richest 400 households last year was only 23 percent, meaning that their combined tax payments equaled less than one quarter of their total income. This overall rate was 70 percent in 1950 and 47 percent in 1980.

For middle-class and poor families, the picture is different. Federal income taxes have also declined modestly for these families, but they haven’t benefited much if at all from the decline in the corporate tax or estate tax. And they now pay more in payroll taxes (which finance Medicare and Social Security) than in the past. Over all, their taxes have remained fairly flat.

The combined result is that over the last 75 years the United States tax system has become radically less progressive.