Taxed Enough Already?

Just in time for calming your Tax Day outrage, some facts, figures and perspective about those taxes you pay to Uncle Sam:

• Some 47 percent of Americans pay no net income tax.

• Including income, payroll, property, excise and sales taxes, however, those in the top 1 percent of income-earners in the United States earn about 21 percent of the total personal income in the U.S. and paid about 23 percent of the taxes.

• Those in the next lowest 4 percent earned about 14 percent of the total income and paid about 16 percent of the total taxes.

• Those in the next lowest 5 percent earned about 10 percent of the income and paid about 15.5 percent of the taxes.

• Those in the next lowest 20 percent earned about 18 percent of the income and paid about 17.5 percent of the taxes.

• Those in the middle 20 percent earned about 12 percent of the income and paid about 10 percent of the taxes.

• Those in the next lowest 20 percent earned about 7 percent of the income and paid about 5 percent of the taxes.

• Those in the lowest 20 percent earned about 3.5 percent of the income and paid about 2 percent of the taxes.

In terms of percentage of overall taxes paid compared to income — which is the only really accurate way to compare these things — that's pretty fair. (Although, when you consider the top 1 percent of Americans takes in around 21 percent of the income and the lowest 60 percent takes in about 22.5 percent, it might seem a little less fair.)

Furthermore, that 47 percent includes plenty of middle-class folks who simply qualified for enough tax credits, say for buying or owning a home, that they were able to reduce their tax liability to zero.

What this means is that we can legitimately fight and argue about what our taxes are paying for, but can't really claim that the tax system is unfair to the rich, as some would-be populists contend.

So please, let's toss out the misleading and often-recited rhetoric claiming that 47 percent of the people in America pay no taxes. Cuz it simply ain't so.