Who Pays the Individual Income Taxes?

Here are some statistics to brighten your Tax Day (from Special Report). Democrats are always harping about "tax cuts for the rich". So, are the rich paying their fare share? More likely, the rich are paying their share and the shares of millions of others as well.

Top 1% (incomes of $1.3 million or more): 38%

Top 20% (incomes of $215,000 or more): 86.3%

Top 40% (incomes of $85,000 or more): 99.4%

Bottom 60%: 0.6%

Bottom 40% (below $37,000 in income): Pays zero taxes and actually gets money back

When 40% of the people pay no taxes and actually get money back from the government, the odds of coming up with a tax plan that is fair to all taxpayers is almost zero. They bottom 40% is almost big enough to veto any fair tax plan just by voting against any legislator who proposes it. This is why you'll never see a flat tax plan enacted - it would require too many people to pay taxes who aren't paying any now.

The top 40% of wage earners are paying the bills (including national defense and all the entitlement programs), while the bottom 60% are going along for the ride (often with their hands outstretched for more government largesse).