Income Down From 1999, Tax Data Show

[dhinojosa]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/28/business/28tax.html

Published: September 28, 2005

The total income of Americans in 2003, adjusted for inflation, was 4 percent smaller than in 1999, new tax return data showed yesterday.

While the number of taxpayers grew by 5.6 million individuals and couples, average income fell even more - by 6.5 percent - while the average wage slipped slightly, with the average job paying $5 a week less.

Over all, incomes were $263 billion lower in 2003 than in 1999 when adjusted for inflation to 2004 dollars, according to data that the Internal Revenue Service posted yesterday on its Web site.

Most of this decline occurred among investors and others with incomes of $1 million or more. The number of Americans making that much fell by 12 percent, to 181,300 taxpayers in 2003, from 205,124 in 1999. Their average income fell, too, to just under $3 million, a decline of more than $572,000, or 16 percent. Over all, the income of this group fell by $190 billion, or 72 percent, of the total decline.