Paul Kender You can only tax those people who have money- currently the richest 1% own more wealth than the bottom 50% of the population, however- wealth is not directly taxed.If we look at income, the top 1% of income earners pay about 39% of federal income taxes since the last tax code changes. The top 10% pay 71% of federal income taxes which means the bottom 90% pay only 29% of federal income taxes. That means if you earn over $175,000 your federal income taxes likely have to go up to pay down national debt. The top 10% of earners in the U.S. are earning 48% of total income and pay roughly 44% of all taxes but it varies hugely between states as places like Alaska and Wyoming have local tax rates below 5% while places like New York and California are above 15%The bottom 20% of earners in the U.S. earn less than 12,000 per year on average and essentially pay zero income taxes but still pay local taxes- there is really no way to raise their taxes. The middle 70% cover 29% of federal income taxes paid using 7 levels of progressive tax brackets from 10% up to 37% We might raise tax brackets by 2-3% to pay lip service to "everyone pays" but the reality is the only people with enough income to raise substantial amounts of money from are in the top 10% of income earners under the current tax code. If estates taxes, trusts, non-profits, and capital gains tax codes were restructured- this might be a different conversation but that seems unlikely.

Paul Kender You can only tax those people who have money- currently the richest 1% own more wealth than the bottom 50% of the population, however- wealth is not directly taxed.If we look at income, the top 1% of income earners pay about 39% of federal income taxes since the last tax code changes. The top 10% pay 71% of federal income taxes which means the bottom 90% pay only 29% of federal income taxes. That means if you earn over $175,000 your federal income taxes likely have to go up to pay down national debt. The top 10% of earners in the U.S. are earning 48% of total income and pay roughly 44% of all taxes but it varies hugely between states as places like Alaska and Wyoming have local tax rates below 5% while places like New York and California are above 15%The bottom 20% of earners in the U.S. earn less than 12,000 per year on average and essentially pay zero income taxes but still pay local taxes- there is really no way to raise their taxes. The middle 70% cover 29% of federal income taxes paid using 7 levels of progressive tax brackets from 10% up to 37% We might raise tax brackets by 2-3% to pay lip service to "everyone pays" but the reality is the only people with enough income to raise substantial amounts of money from are in the top 10% of income earners under the current tax code. If estates taxes, trusts, non-profits, and capital gains tax codes were restructured- this might be a different conversation but that seems unlikely.

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