Americans: rich and poor
- Last week the US census revealed that 46 million Americans – one in six – now live in poverty, the highest number ever.
- In 2010, the top 20% of Americans earned 49.4% of the nation’s income. The top 1% account for 24% of all income.
- About 47% of US people pay no federal income taxes, either because their incomes are too low, or because they qualify for enough tax breaks to eliminate their liability.
- People who make money from investments pay far lower taxes than those who earn it from their wages.
- Last year Warren Buffett, who has a $50bn personal fortune, paid $6.9m in federal taxes – 17.4% of his taxable income. The other 20 people in his office paid between 33% and 41%.
It is against this background that President Obama struggles to persuade the US Congress to tax the rich a little bit more. Some background here.
September 26th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
According to the Congressional Budget Office:
Odd that the Guardian did not provide this background information.