From the United States to Europe and countless other places, wealth inequality continues to grow. In recent decades, the gap between rich and poor has become a chasm, occasionally sparking protests around the world.
In America, politicians often suggest that getting the rich to pay their “fair share” in taxes would help to close the gap between the haves and have-nots. But how much do the rich — and everyone else — really pay in taxes today?
Recently, the Tax Foundation issued its summary of the latest federal income tax data from the IRS, which is for the tax year 2022. Based on its analysis, the foundation found that the top 1% of taxpayers — meaning those who earned north of $663,000 that year — had an average tax rate of 26.09% and paid an average of $561,523 in taxes.
Collectively, the taxes paid by the top 1% accounted for 40% of all taxes paid in 2022.
The average tax rate of the top 1% was much higher than what people in other income brackets paid. Here are the statistics for the top 50% and bottom 50% of all taxpayers, followed by those of all taxpayers.
The top 50%
How this group was defined: Taxpayers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of more than $50,399 per tax return
The average amount they paid in taxes in 2022: $26,959
Their average tax rate in 2022: 15.87%
The total amount they paid in taxes (i.e., collectively) in 2022, rounded to the nearest million: $2,073,129,000,000 (or nearly $2.1 trillion, with a “T”)
Their collective 2022 taxes as a share of all taxes paid by taxpayers that year: 97%
The bottom 50%
How this group was defined: Taxpayers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $50,399 per tax return
The average amount they paid in taxes in 2022: $822
Their average tax rate in 2022: 3.74%
The total amount they paid in taxes (i.e., collectively) in 2022, rounded to the nearest million: $63,203,000,000 (or about $63.2 billion, with a “B”)
Their collective 2022 taxes as a share of all taxes paid by taxpayers that year: 3%
All taxpayers
The average amount this group paid in taxes in 2022: $13,890
Their average tax rate in 2022: 14.48%
The total amount they paid in taxes (i.e., collectively) in 2022, rounded to the nearest million: $2,136,333,000,000 (or more than $2.1 trillion, with a “T”)