46% of millionaires pay ZERO tax?

[ErikJ]

This is an ad running on RW rag Newsmax for a book:
But arent the Republicons always whining that 46% of the ALL Americans (dog whistle) pay no taxes? Can anybody find any data for this claim?


A Newsmax Investigative Report:

But shockingly, unbeknownst to the masses, the wealthiest Americans often don't pay a dime in taxes . . . and it's all legal.

In one recent year alone . . .

46.9% of Those Earning $250,000
(or more) Paid Zero Taxes.

Now if these individuals allowed Uncle Sam to fleece them at their 35% tax bracket, they should have a paid a minimum of $87,500.

[Vincardog]

3. That combined with the fact that the upper income households have not paid their

fais share for at least a decade.
Plus two illegal occupations on the credit card.
Might explain the faux "national budget crisis" which is really an income or cash flow problem.
It can all be solved by retuning to the 1969 tax rates and having corporations pay their taxes.
A Financial Transaction tax would o a long way to eliminating a lot of counter productive "financial" activity.

[Robb]

2. Remember most aren't collecting a big paycheck.

They're making their money from asset appreciation -- capital gains. There are many, many legal ways to defer capital gains tax nearly indefinitely.

Or, more simply, they can defer until some future administration lowers/eliminated the capital gains tax.

[LiberalFighter]

4. If a person has income of $250,000 and had no exemptions or deductions

they would not under any circumstances pay $87,500 in federal taxes.

First, the top rate for someone with $250k of income would be 33%.
Second, that tax rate of 33% is only on taxable income between $212,300 and $379,150. The income below the $212,300 is taxed at 4 different lower rates.

The most possible tax on $250k would be $59,954.30

More than likely if the person has a family of 4 they would have about $26,000 of income that is not taxed before federal taxes are figured. And that would be about $51,374.50

When someone has income that puts them in the 35% tax bracket only the income (after $379,150) in that bracket is taxed at that rate.