Welfare I agree with everything you're saying and TAXES are too high for the middle class BUT as indicated by several posters, it's not JUST taxes. 33% or more goes in to Uncle Sam. My wife is self employed so we have "part" of the same deal you do. The problem is NOT TAXEs, it's ENTITLEMENTS. I saw a post where some guy was pissed because his money went to some guy sittin on his "arse" THIS is NOT your TAX dollars at work, it just seems like it is because it goes to the same Uncle Sam. THAT is SOCIAL SECURITY and WELFARE and the system is in BAD need of overahul. BUT the only party that wants to do this is the REP. and they shy away from it because the DNC and the MEDIA love that topic. They love to use SCARE tactics on poor and elderly people who DEPEND on SS to scare them inot voting for THEIR sorry asses. So the Rep. Party candidates put it on an indefinate "Back burner" so that they can keep votes from those people they need. TAXES are NOT the problem, ENTITLEMENTS are OUT of Control. We have millions of dollars going OVERSEAS for entitlements, and it's not the same money as nation building. Some of these folks are retired and living overseas. It's not BUSH's fault, the sistuation has grown into a HUGE lumbering problem over the last 80 or so years since it was installed and NO ONE wants to address it. BUSH did sponsor a bill that made some not all but some WELFARE recipients PROVE their necessity and if they were able to work, he sponsored some GOV. funded RE-Training and job placement. THE problem is SOME people just NEVER aspire to do any better. THEY simply do NOT wish to work. I know this amazes some ordinary people but some people just don't mind being poor. Sure they gripe about it, and people like CB make excuses for them, like oh they are stuck in that situation becuase of race or blah blah blah BUT the truth is some people just don't aspire to do any better. These are the REAL problems in our society, we have encouraged a whole generation that LAZINESS PAYS, and it is being rewarded. They have no incentive to do better.
Individual Income Tax Returns Table 1.--Returns with Positive Adjusted Gross Income (AGI): Number of Returns, Shares of AGI and Total Income Tax, AGI Floor on Percentiles in Current and Constant Dollars, and Average Tax Rates, by Selected Descending Cumulative Percentiles of Returns Based on Income Size Using the Definition of AGI for Each Year, Tax Years 1986-2001 [All figures are estimates based on samples] Descending cumulative percentiles Item, tax year Total Top Top Top Top Top 1 percent 5 percent 10 percent 25 percent 50 percent (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Number of returns: [1] 1986........................................................................................... 102,087,623 1,020,876 5,104,381 10,208,762 25,521,906 51,043,811 1987........................................................................................... 106,154,761 1,061,548 5,307,738 10,615,476 26,538,690 53,077,380 1988........................................................................................... 108,872,859 1,088,729 5,443,643 10,887,286 27,218,214 54,436,429 1989........................................................................................... 111,312,721 1,113,127 5,565,636 11,131,272 27,828,181 55,656,361 1990........................................................................................... 112,812,262 1,128,123 5,640,613 11,281,226 28,203,066 56,406,132 1991........................................................................................... 113,804,104 1,138,041 5,690,205 11,380,410 28,451,026 56,902,052 1992........................................................................................... 112,652,759 1,126,528 5,632,638 11,265,276 28,163,190 56,326,380 1993........................................................................................... 113,681,387 1,136,814 5,684,069 11,368,139 28,420,347 56,840,694 1994........................................................................................... 114,989,920 1,149,899 5,749,496 11,498,992 28,747,480 57,494,960 1995........................................................................................... 117,274,186 1,172,742 5,863,709 11,727,419 29,318,546 58,637,093 1996........................................................................................... 119,441,767 1,194,418 5,972,088 11,944,177 29,860,442 59,720,884 1997........................................................................................... 121,503,284 1,215,033 6,075,164 12,150,328 30,375,821 60,751,642 1998........................................................................................... 123,775,831 1,237,758 6,188,792 12,377,583 30,943,958 61,887,915 1999........................................................................................... 126,008,974 1,260,090 6,300,449 12,600,897 31,502,244 63,004,487 2000........................................................................................... 128,227,143 1,282,271 6,411,357 12,822,714 32,056,786 64,113,572 2001........................................................................................... 128,817,051 1,288,171 6,440,853 12,881,705 32,204,263 64,408,526 Adjusted gross income floor on percentiles (current dollars): 1986........................................................................................... N/A 118,818 62,377 48,656 32,242 17,302 1987........................................................................................... N/A 139,289 68,414 52,921 33,983 17,768 1988........................................................................................... N/A 157,136 72,735 55,437 35,398 18,367 1989........................................................................................... N/A 163,869 76,933 58,263 36,839 18,993 1990........................................................................................... N/A 167,421 79,064 60,287 38,080 19,767 1991........................................................................................... N/A 170,139 81,720 61,944 38,929 20,097 1992........................................................................................... N/A 181,904 85,103 64,457 40,378 20,803 1993........................................................................................... N/A 185,715 87,386 66,077 41,210 21,179 1994........................................................................................... N/A 195,726 91,226 68,753 42,742 21,802 1995........................................................................................... N/A 209,406 96,221 72,094 44,207 22,344 1996........................................................................................... N/A 227,546 101,141 74,986 45,757 23,174 1997........................................................................................... N/A 250,736 108,048 79,212 48,173 24,393 1998........................................................................................... N/A 269,496 114,729 83,220 50,607 25,491 1999........................................................................................... N/A 293,415 120,846 87,682 52,965 26,415 2000........................................................................................... N/A 313,469 128,336 92,144 55,225 27,682 2001........................................................................................... N/A 292,913 127,904 92,754 56,085 28,528 Adjusted gross income floor on percentiles (constant dollars): [2] 1986........................................................................................... N/A 108,411 56,913 44,394 29,418 15,786 1987........................................................................................... N/A 122,614 60,224 46,585 29,915 15,641 1988........................................................................................... N/A 132,828 61,484 46,861 29,922 15,526 1989........................................................................................... N/A 132,152 62,043 46,986 29,709 15,317 1990........................................................................................... N/A 128,096 60,493 46,126 29,135 15,124 1991........................................................................................... N/A 124,919 60,000 45,480 28,582 14,756 1992........................................................................................... N/A 129,654 60,658 45,942 28,780 14,828 1993........................................................................................... N/A 128,522 60,475 45,728 28,519 14,657 1994........................................................................................... N/A 132,069 61,556 46,392 28,841 14,711 1995........................................................................................... N/A 137,406 63,137 47,306 29,007 14,661 1996........................................................................................... N/A 145,026 64,462 47,792 29,163 14,769 1997........................................................................................... N/A 156,222 67,320 49,353 30,014 15,198 1998........................................................................................... N/A 164,427 69,999 50,775 30,877 15,553 1999........................................................................................... N/A 176,119 72,537 52,630 31,792 15,855 2000........................................................................................... N/A 182,038 74,527 53,510 32,070 16,075 2001........................................................................................... N/A 165,394 72,221 52,374 31,669 16,108 Adjusted gross income (millions of dollars): 1986........................................................................................... 2,524,124 285,197 608,467 886,510 1,490,173 2,103,569 1987........................................................................................... 2,813,728 346,635 722,221 1,038,221 1,709,389 2,373,869 1988........................................................................................... 3,124,156 473,527 890,702 1,232,536 1,950,860 2,657,865 1989........................................................................................... 3,298,858 468,079 918,421 1,286,539 2,054,478 2,805,235 1990........................................................................................... 3,451,237 483,252 953,337 1,338,032 2,144,177 2,932,537 1991........................................................................................... 3,516,142 456,603 943,350 1,343,202 2,174,765 2,984,003 1992........................................................................................... 3,680,552 523,586 1,031,093 1,443,784 2,299,401 3,131,400 1993........................................................................................... 3,775,578 520,586 1,048,252 1,474,463 2,357,953 3,212,299 1994........................................................................................... 3,961,146 546,700 1,103,084 1,552,205 2,481,074 3,371,352 1995........................................................................................... 4,244,607 619,610 1,222,723 1,704,513 2,689,820 3,627,542 1996........................................................................................... 4,590,527 736,545 1,393,805 1,909,149 2,952,637 3,944,383 1997........................................................................................... 5,023,457 872,826 1,597,107 2,151,401 3,267,600 4,327,992 1998........................................................................................... 5,469,211 1,010,245 1,796,647 2,393,716 3,589,600 4,721,430 1999........................................................................................... 5,909,329 1,152,820 2,011,763 2,652,835 3,927,308 5,126,164 2000........................................................................................... 6,423,977 1,336,773 2,267,403 2,955,386 4,313,786 5,589,755 2001........................................................................................... 6,241,036 1,094,296 1,996,492 2,690,589 4,071,034 5,379,286 Footnotes at end of table. Individual Income Tax Returns Table 1.--Returns with Positive Adjusted Gross Income (AGI): Number of Returns, Shares of AGI and Total Income Tax, AGI Floor on Percentiles in Current and Constant Dollars, and Average Tax Rates, by Selected Descending Cumulative Percentiles of Returns Based on Income Size Using the Definition of AGI for Each Year, Tax Years 1986-2001--Continued [All figures are estimates based on samples] Descending cumulative percentiles Item, tax year Total Top Top Top Top Top 1 percent 5 percent 10 percent 25 percent 50 percent (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Total income tax (millions of dollars): [3] 1986........................................................................................... 366,979 94,491 156,240 200,703 278,976 343,289 1987........................................................................................... 369,046 91,559 159,642 205,230 283,857 346,655 1988........................................................................................... 412,761 113,841 188,303 236,411 321,297 389,145 1989........................................................................................... 432,838 109,259 190,188 241,458 334,258 407,599 1990........................................................................................... 447,061 112,338 195,088 247,514 344,340 421,075 1991........................................................................................... 448,349 111,267 194,480 250,282 346,511 423,759 1992........................................................................................... 476,163 131,156 218,479 276,213 373,700 452,070 1993........................................................................................... 502,720 145,836 238,083 297,808 398,516 478,563 1994........................................................................................... 534,754 154,337 254,106 317,902 425,402 509,256 1995........................................................................................... 588,331 178,035 287,741 357,402 472,808 561,225 1996........................................................................................... 658,124 212,626 335,433 411,404 535,164 629,684 1997........................................................................................... 727,303 241,239 377,241 459,639 594,007 696,161 1998........................................................................................... 788,452 274,009 424,506 512,836 651,964 755,240 1999........................................................................................... 877,292 317,419 486,464 583,002 732,890 842,168 2000........................................................................................... 980,521 366,929 553,670 660,150 823,706 942,179 2001........................................................................................... 887,882 300,898 472,823 576,163 736,053 852,642 Average tax rate (percentage): [4] 1986........................................................................................... 14.54 33.13 25.68 22.64 18.72 16.32 1987........................................................................................... 13.12 26.41 22.10 19.77 16.61 14.60 1988........................................................................................... 13.21 24.04 21.14 19.18 16.47 14.64 1989........................................................................................... 13.12 23.34 20.71 18.77 16.27 14.53 1990........................................................................................... 12.95 23.25 20.46 18.50 16.06 14.36 1991........................................................................................... 12.75 24.37 20.62 18.63 15.93 14.20 1992........................................................................................... 12.94 25.05 21.19 19.13 16.25 14.44 1993........................................................................................... 13.32 28.01 22.71 20.20 16.90 14.90 1994........................................................................................... 13.50 28.23 23.04 20.48 17.15 15.11 1995........................................................................................... 13.86 28.73 23.53 20.97 17.58 15.47 1996........................................................................................... 14.34 28.87 24.07 21.55 18.12 15.96 1997........................................................................................... 14.48 27.64 23.62 21.36 18.18 16.09 1998........................................................................................... 14.42 27.12 23.63 21.42 18.16 16.00 1999........................................................................................... 14.85 27.53 24.18 21.98 18.66 16.43 2000........................................................................................... 15.26 27.45 24.42 22.34 19.09 16.86 2001........................................................................................... 14.23 27.50 23.68 21.41 18.08 15.85 Adjusted gross income share (percentage): 1986........................................................................................... 100.00 11.30 24.11 35.12 59.04 83.34 1987........................................................................................... 100.00 12.32 25.67 36.90 60.75 84.37 1988........................................................................................... 100.00 15.16 28.51 39.45 62.44 85.07 1989........................................................................................... 100.00 14.19 27.84 39.00 62.28 85.04 1990........................................................................................... 100.00 14.00 27.62 38.77 62.13 84.97 1991........................................................................................... 100.00 12.99 26.83 38.20 61.85 84.87 1992........................................................................................... 100.00 14.23 28.01 39.23 62.47 85.08 1993........................................................................................... 100.00 13.79 27.76 39.05 62.45 85.08 1994........................................................................................... 100.00 13.80 27.85 39.19 62.64 85.11 1995........................................................................................... 100.00 14.60 28.81 40.16 63.37 85.46 1996........................................................................................... 100.00 16.04 30.36 41.59 64.32 85.92 1997........................................................................................... 100.00 17.38 31.79 42.83 65.05 86.16 1998........................................................................................... 100.00 18.47 32.85 43.77 65.63 86.33 1999........................................................................................... 100.00 19.51 34.04 44.89 66.46 86.75 2000........................................................................................... 100.00 20.81 35.30 46.01 67.15 87.01 2001........................................................................................... 100.00 17.53 31.99 43.11 65.23 86.19 Total income tax share (percentage): 1986........................................................................................... 100.00 25.75 42.57 54.69 76.02 93.54 1987........................................................................................... 100.00 24.81 43.26 55.61 76.92 93.93 1988........................................................................................... 100.00 27.58 45.62 57.28 77.84 94.28 1989........................................................................................... 100.00 25.24 43.94 55.78 77.22 94.17 1990........................................................................................... 100.00 25.13 43.64 55.36 77.02 94.19 1991........................................................................................... 100.00 24.82 43.38 55.82 77.29 94.52 1992........................................................................................... 100.00 27.54 45.88 58.01 78.48 94.94 1993........................................................................................... 100.00 29.01 47.36 59.24 79.27 95.19 1994........................................................................................... 100.00 28.86 47.52 59.45 79.55 95.23 1995........................................................................................... 100.00 30.26 48.91 60.75 80.36 95.39 1996........................................................................................... 100.00 32.31 50.97 62.51 81.32 95.68 1997........................................................................................... 100.00 33.17 51.87 63.20 81.67 95.72 1998........................................................................................... 100.00 34.75 53.84 65.04 82.69 95.79 1999........................................................................................... 100.00 36.18 55.45 66.45 83.54 96.00 2000........................................................................................... 100.00 37.42 56.47 67.33 84.01 96.09 2001........................................................................................... 100.00 33.89 53.25 64.89 82.90 96.03 N/A-- Not applicable. [1] The number of returns with negative adjusted gross income, i.e., returns with an adjusted gross deficit, and the corresponding amounts for adjusted gross deficit, were excluded from Table 1. By excluding deficit returns, alternative minimum tax reported on some of these returns was also excluded. For Tax Year 2001, there were 5,267 returns with no adjusted gross income that reported income tax, mostly alternative minimum tax, totaling $94.5 million. [2] For Table 1, constant dollars were calculated using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index for urban consumers (CPI-U, 1982-84=100). For 2001 the CPI-U = 177.1. [3] Total income tax is the sum of income tax after credits and alternative minimum tax reported on returns that showed a positive amount for adjusted gross income. Therefore, total income tax excludes alternative minimum tax, Form 8814 tax (tax on a child's interest or dividends), and Form 4972 tax (tax on lump-sum distributions from qualified retirement plans) reported on some returns with a negative amount for adjusted gross income. See also footnote 1. [4] The average tax rate was computed by dividing total income tax (see footnote 3) by (positive) adjusted gross income. Source: IRS, Statistics of Income, Unpublished data, September 2003.
