[fourseventy]

The idea that rich people don't pay taxes is a myth. The top 5% richest people in America account for 60% of all of the federal income tax. The bottom 50% on the other hand only account for a total of 3%.

When Elon sold a bunch of Tesla stock in 2021 he paid $11 Billion in capital gains tax on it... That's more than entire cities worth of people combined would ever pay for the rest of their lives.

[jdauriemma]

Can you share a source? Of course the top 5% of _earners_ would pay more, but that's not necessarily the same crew as the top 5% in net worth. And 5% is a large share of the population. I'd be more interested in the top 1% of 1% in terms of wealth.

[verteu]

Indeed GP is falsely equating "wealthiest" with "highest taxable income".

They are likely referring to a stat like this: https://usafacts.org/articles/who-pays-the-most-income-tax/

[triceratops]

> The top 5% richest people in America account for 60% of all of the federal income tax

I see this repeated all the time and it's worthless without context. What percent of all income do the top 5% earn? What's their share of national wealth?

[archagon]

It’s a stupid thought-terminating quip entirely centered around a superficial “one number bigger than other” gotcha.

We live in a society where the wealthiest have orders of magnitude more wealth than everyone else. The taxes they pay are not proportional to that wealth, period.

[drivebyhooting]

5% richest includes hand to mouth workers earning $100k.

[ecshafer]

95th percentile is around $150k individual and $330k joint income.