It’s not quite that simple. 41% of filers pay no income tax. The set of filers is only a subset of the population at large, so 41% of filers would be less than 41% of the total population. Therefore, the percentage of the population who don’t pay would be the 9% of nonfilers plus the <41% of the population who file and don’t pay.
Nonetheless, the point is that the percentage of non-payers is too damn high.
I paid zero income tax on a six-figure household income in 2006, due to the adoption expenses tax credit being roughly equal to my total tax liability. The credit actually only covered about a quarter of our total expenses for the adoption, so it’s not like we came out ahead except for having a son at the end of it all.
Some other important things to consider:
1. What percentage of illegals are not paying anything?
2. What is the ethnic breakdown of non-payers?
3. How many of those who pay nothing are young and attending school?
4. How many are Democrats? How many are Republicans?
5. How long have they not been paying? Was this just an anomalous year for them? Or is this typical?
6. How many are seniors and retired?
But possibly the most important thing that needs to be examined is this: What is the actual income of non-payers receiving government assistance? By this I mean, what is their income if you add in all of the benefits they receive? This could include social security, unemployment, welfare, disability, food stamps, Section 8 housing allowance, and any other subsidies that they receive. I’d like to see what their effective after tax spending power is compared to those who are working. I’d like to know what the median is, what is typical. I don’t just want to hear about the carefully selected sob story that the media pushes.
‘Population at large’- does this include babies and young children who I don’t think should be tossed into the specific comparisons.