Posted by Kromey at 5:19pm Jan 17 '14Yes, you read that right, and no, that's not a typo: According to the Congressional Budget Office, the top 40% of American earners paid 106% of the federal taxes.
The bottom 40% paid negative 9%.
The report shows the lowest-paid Americans earned on average $8,100 in 2010 but received nearly $25,000 in government aid. You begin to see how "transfers" create a negative tax burden.
But wait, there more. The CBO says about a quarter of the lowest earning group actually paid negative 15 percent of all individual income taxes. Contrast that with the combined share of the wealthiest two groups, which totals more than 100 percent.
Seems to me like the rich are paying more than their fair share...