Tax Burden of Upper-Income Households
Florida’s Sunshine State News reported on Friday that President Obama was renewing his “push for tax hikes on ‘millionaires and billionaires.’” In their reporting on the president’s remark’s concerning the debt ceiling talks, the news organization reported:
“Obama warned that failure to raise the $14.6 trillion debt ceiling would put the nation into default and could raise consumer interest rates – “which would effectively be a tax hike.”
“He blamed Republicans for the impasse, saying they had "boxed themselves in ideologically."
“Though declining to provide specifics, the president said his “balanced approach” would include Medicare reform, up to $4 trillion in discretionary spending cuts and a host of “revenue increases [on] millionaires and billionaires.”
“Republicans say they are united in opposing any tax hikes and support passage of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution – a move that Obama opposes.”
On April 3, 2011, we growled about how much the U.S. really lean on the rich compared to other better-off countries, i.e., the 24 members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). We cited a post by Scott Hodge, Tax Foundation president, then, and with a HT to Mark Levin, we repeat the reference to Scott Hodge’s March 21, 2011 Tax Foundation policy blog post.
Here’s the bottom line. Comparing “the rich” in America (the top decile) to “the rich” of the 24 OECD countries (again using the top decile) shows:
- United States: share of taxes of richest decile -- 45.1%; share of market income of richest decile -- 33.5%%; ratio of shares of richest deciles -- 1.35.
- 24 OECD Countries: share of taxes of richest decile -- 31.6%; share of market income of richest decile -- 28.4%; shares of market income of richest decile -- 1.11.
Why can't progressives or liberals ever get their facts straight? Or do they just enjoy pandering by engaging in class warfare?