This past week, America celebrated its 236th anniversary from the date the Declaration of Independence was signed. One of the main reasons for the Declaration of Independence was the belief of the American Colonists that they were being taxed unfairly. Below is a report from the Tax Foundation of some historical taxes imposed by the U.S. government over our history for perspective of our tax rates now.
In 1913, the first year of the modern income tax in America, the top tax rate was 7%. To reach this top federal tax rate, your inflation adjusted annual income in 1913 would have to exceed $11,332,304.
In 2013, the top marginal tax rate will be $43%. To reach this top federal tax rate, your annual income will only have to exceed $250,000.
Share of all federal income taxes paid by the top 1% in 1980: 19.05%
Share of all federal income taxes paid by the top 1% in 2009: 36.73%
Percentage of federal income taxes paid by the bottom 50% of taxpayers in 1980: 7.05%
Percentage of federal income taxes paid by the bottom 50% of all taxpayers in 2009: 2.25%
Remember when politicians talk about tax equality, they do not mean that they want to lower everyone’s rate to what was sustainable only 30 years ago; they want to raise everyone’s rate to what was only expected of the richest.