The Week: Americans Don’t Pay Enough in Taxes

But here’s the truth: If you add up all the taxes Americans pay, the system is only slightly progressive. As this new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows, those in the poorest quintile pay a total of about 16 percent of their income in taxes, those in the middle pay 25 percent, and those in the top 1 percent pay 30 percent. Even if the federal income tax is quite progressive, with everyone paying more the higher their incomes, the non-rich pay a lot of other taxes, many of which, like payroll taxes and sales taxes, actually hit you harder the lower your income.

So how should we change the tax system? Read more