$500,000 - $1,000,000 |
|
Information on your income group is listed below in Row 1. Information on two other groups is also listed for comparison. Row 2 has the stats on the 240 thousand people who have incomes of $1,000,000 or more. Row 3 has the data on the 129 million with incomes between $0 and $1,000,000. |
| Mean | 1976 | 1976-2000 | ||||||
| 2000 |
Percent |
Adjusted | Percent of | 2000 | After-tax | 1976-2000 | Percent of | |
| Row | Income | of all | Gross | Tax Rate | After-tax | Income | After-tax | After-tax |
|
# |
Range | Taxpayers | Income | Decrease | Income | (in 2000 $s) | Income Gain | Income Gain |
|
1 |
$500,000 - $1,000,000 |
0.31% |
$679,121 |
5.6% |
$487,211 |
$176,549 |
$310,662 |
176% |
|
2 |
$1,000,000 or more |
0.19% |
$3,410,368 |
31.1% |
$2,466,127 |
$356,856 |
$2,109,271 |
591% |
|
3 |
No AGI to $1,000,000 |
99.81% |
$42,963 |
-7.4% |
$37,121 |
$32,038 |
$5,083 |
16% |
|
Row 1 is the report card for the 396 thousand-plus filers with adjusted gross incomes of $500,000 to $1,000,000. Your group did very well. Your TAX RATE actually DECREASED by 5.6%. Your income surpassed inflation ($1 in 1976 bought as much as $3 in 2000) because many of you are businessmen and professionals who can command large salaries and bonuses. Your average AFTER-TAX INCOME INCREASED by $310,662. Even so, your tax rate as a percent of AGI was over 2% higher than those in the $1,000,000-plus group and over 5% higher than those in the $5,000,000-plus group. If the tax cuts continue to regress in favor of the Superrich, even your group will be at risk. |
The productivity gains of the nation, as a whole, have led to an average increase in after-tax income of 28%. When we remove those with million-dollar-plus paychecks, the after-tax income gain for everyone else (Row 3) drops to 16%. How did nearly half of the growth of the economy end up in the hands of the top 1/5 of 1%? Row 2 shows that the richest few saw their taxes drop by over 31%. The various tax breaks have allowed these 240 thousand people to SAVE $102 billion in taxes in 1 year, while many Americans paid more than they had under the 1976 rates. |
|
In 1976, the richest few controlled 3% of the total income. After 20 years of sweetheart tax breaks, the share of the national income for the Superrich has increased to 13%. That amounts to $817 billion of the $6,365 billion year 2000 national paycheck. |
|
Last year's tax cut and the current proposed legislation will give the Superrich an even greater advantage. Isn't it time to demand that Congress stop these giant gifts and treat the rest of us fairly? |