When I say the rich are paying more, I mean they are paying more now. They didn't pay more in 2001 with the recession, or in 2002 or 2003, because their incomes where lower in those years. 2004 is less clear, but income is definitely up for 2005 and total tax revenue is now higher than 2001.
The rich did pay less in taxes immediately after the tax cuts, but this had as more to do with the ongoing recession as it did to with the tax cut. Now they are paying more in taxes than they did in 2001. Total federal revenue is up, and a number of people at the bottom where dropped off the tax roles completely.
Looking at the per Q growth
jec.senate.gov.
You can see that we are having decent growth now. The rich have increased their income because of this growth, in fact they have increased it by more than the average person. Since they have increased their income they are paying more in income tax. The total income tax paid is slightly up and the less than wealthy are paying less in incomes taxes than they did in 2001.
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A recent report from the Treasury Department confirms that the rich are paying a bigger share of taxes than they would if the Bush tax cuts hadn’t passed. The Treasury estimates that the top 1 percent of earners will pay about 32.3 percent of taxes this year, which is the same as the CBO estimate. The Treasury also estimates, however, that absent the tax cuts, the top 1 percent would be paying only 30.5 percent of taxes, down 10 percent from 2001.
The Treasury data confirm that the real impact of the tax cuts on the rich has been precisely the opposite of what the CBO study suggests. By resuscitating the economy and spurring a turnaround in income growth, the tax cuts have increased the share paid by the rich. Real income growth has increased significantly since the 2003 tax cuts were passed, increasing at faster than a 6 percent rate in the first two quarters of 2004. With the economy now growing more quickly, we can expect the tax shares paid by high-income groups to increase.
nationalreview.com
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Tax Cut Myths Debunked by CBO
From the Congressional Joint Economic Committee:
"A new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report produced at the request of Congressional Democrats confirms that tax cuts since 2001 increased the share of federal income taxes paid by the highest earners while decreasing the tax share of lower- and middle-income groups. The CBO analysis, Effective Tax Rates Under Current Law, 2001 to 2014, shows that the income tax remains highly progressive, with the top 5 percent of earners paying more than half of all federal income taxes.
Highlights:
* As a result of the tax cuts since 2001, all taxpayers face lower effective federal income tax rates than they would have without the tax cuts.
* While many characterize the CBO report as evidence that the tax cuts shifted the burden of taxation to the middle class, CBO data show precisely the opposite effect. The tax cuts actually made the tax system more progressive. The highest 20 percent of earners now pay a larger share of federal income taxes than they would have without the tax cuts, while the share of income taxes paid by all other income groups fell.
forum.belmont.edu
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"Business blogger Jeff Cornwall points to Congressional Budget Office data showing that, because President Bush's tax cuts in 2001, 2002 and 2003, the rich are paying a larger portion of all federal income taxes than before. That's right. The Bush tax cuts shifted more of the burden of paying for government off the backs of the poor and middle class and on to the backs of the well-off.
The Congressional Joint Economic Committee reports that
A new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report produced at the request of Congressional Democrats confirms that tax cuts since 2001 increased the share of federal income taxes paid by the highest earners while decreasing the tax share of lower- and middle-income groups. The CBO analysis, Effective Tax Rates Under Current Law, 2001 to 2014, shows that the income tax remains highly progressive, with the top 5 percent of earners paying more than half of all federal income taxes.
The CBO's 29-page page report also provides some more interesting facts.
The highest 20 percent of earners now pay a larger share of federal income taxes than they would have without the tax cuts, while the share of income taxes paid by all other income groups fell. "
blogsforbush.com
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