I don't know which article as my friend only sent me part of it. If possible, could you help me debunk or fill out further information about this? I'd be appreciative for any help anybody can supply me.
I've asked my friend (who is also very skeptical) to send me the source article URL or location. Once he does, I'll post it here.
Here's the money quote:
We have a very real 17 TRILLION dollars in debt.
How do we pay it off, with taxes. Who pays taxes......
The top 1 percent earned 18.87 percent of all income and paid 37.38 percent of all federal income taxes paid.
The top 5 percent earned 33.78 percent of all income and paid 59.07 percent of all federal income taxes paid.
The top 10 percent earned 45.17 percent of all income and paid 70.62 percent of all federal income taxes paid.
The top 20 percent earned 78.14 percent of all income and paid 94.62 percent of all federal income taxes paid.
The bottom 50 percent of filers paid 4.92 percent of their income into federal income tax.
The bottom 43 percent earning households did not pay ANY federal income tax.
That’s 70 million homes that will end up owing no federal income taxes for 2013
Given the top marginal tax rates, this just doesn't feel right, but it might be more of an income inequality case than anything else.
And of course, they're neglecting state and local taxes, sales tax, tax on gas, and so on right down the line, including hidden taxes that show up in the price of the item purchased.
I'd like to thank everybody in advance for any assistance you can provide.