American Billionaires have an 8% effective federal income tax rate.

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IwantRooseveltagain
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Ya America. Keep voting Republican!

That’s less than what the poorest working Americans pay.

The working poor pay 7.62% in employment taxes while the wealthy pay just 8% in federal income tax.
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The claim that the working poor pay 7.62% in employment taxes while the wealthy pay just 8% in federal income tax is misleading and oversimplifies the U.S. tax system. First, employment taxes (Social Security and Medicare) are separate from federal income taxes and apply to all wage earners at a flat rate, regardless of income level. These taxes are indeed 7.62% for most workers, but they fund specific social programs, not general government revenue.

Secondly, the claim that the wealthy pay only 8% in federal income tax overlooks the progressive nature of the income tax system, where higher earners are subject to higher marginal tax rates, up to 37%. While some high-income individuals may have effective tax rates that appear lower due to deductions, credits, or income from capital gains (which are taxed at a lower rate), the overall effective tax rate for the wealthy is generally higher than 8%. According to the Tax Policy Center, for the top 1% of earners in the U.S., the effective federal income tax rate is typically around 25% to 30%. This includes the average rates after accounting for deductions, credits, and other tax provisions. Moreover, the wealthy also pay additional taxes, such as state taxes and investment-related taxes, which further increase their overall tax burden.

Finally, this comparison fails to account for the broader context of the tax system. The wealthy contribute a significant portion of total federal tax revenue, not only through income taxes but also through estate taxes, corporate taxes, and capital gains taxes. On the other hand, low-income earners benefit from tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which can significantly reduce their overall tax burden, sometimes even resulting in a net refund. Thus, the tax system is more complex than this simplified comparison suggests, and the wealthy typically pay a higher percentage of their income in total taxes compared to the working poor.

IwantRooseveltagain
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, for the top 1% of earners in the U.S., the effective federal income tax rate is typically around 25% to 30%.
AI can’t think for you GP. It’s giving you a word salad. 

The 1% are not billionaires. They are the .1%. 

Garbage in = garbage out. Go back to Jimmy Dore, at least there you can’t fuck up the inputs.

At least now you now what employment taxes are and what the rate is.
IwantRooseveltagain
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First, employment taxes (Social Security and Medicare) are separate from federal income taxes and apply to all wage earners at a flat rate, regardless of income level. 
False.

employment taxes apply to earned income, up to 168K for Social Security and all earned income for Medicare.

Wages relate to hourly worker compensation while earned income includes wages, salary, bonuses, commissions and other forms of compensation.

Garbage in = garbage out

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Claiming that billionaires only made an 8% effective federal income tax rate is significantly inaccurate based on recent data. Both the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) provide evidence showing that the effective federal income tax rate for the top 0.1% of earners, including billionaires, is notably higher.

The CBO's 2021 report indicates that the effective federal income tax rate for the top 0.1% of earners was approximately 23% in 2019. Similarly, the ITEP's 2020 report estimates the effective federal income tax rate for this group to be around 25%.

These studies reflect that billionaires and high-income earners are paying a much higher effective rate than 8%, demonstrating the importance of accurate data in understanding tax burdens.

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Trusting an inaccurate figure from an unreliable source, like the CIA run MSM in this context, reflects a significant oversight. The effective federal income tax rates for billionaires are well-documented by credible studies such as those from the CBO and ITEP, which show rates around 23-25% for the top 0.1% of earners. Relying on incorrect information and failing to cross-check with reputable sources is a clear example of intellectual laziness and TDS.  The discrepancy between the 8% figure and the actual rates from the CBO and ITEP demonstrates the importance of rigorous research and skepticism in forming accurate conclusions.

You need to be much more diligent in your approach to verifying information. Accepting an 8% tax rate claim from a dubious source without checking against credible, data-backed reports like those from the CBO and ITEP shows a troubling lack of due diligence. This isn't just about a minor mistake; it’s about fundamental intellectual laziness. You should be questioning and cross-referencing facts instead of relying on potentially unreliable sources. This kind of oversight undermines your ability to make informed, accurate judgments and reveals a need for more rigorous, critical thinking in evaluating claims.

IwantRooseveltagain
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You’re making shit up. You couldn’t even get the taxes on Social Security correct.

Unrealized capital gains will remain unrealized permanently when they are passed on to heirs and the basis of those assets “steps up”.

The analysis from OMB and CEA economists estimates that the wealthiest 400 billionaire families in America paid an average of just 8.2 percent of their income—including income from their wealth that goes largely untaxed—in Federal individual income taxes between 2010 and 2018. That’s a lower rate than many ordinary Americans pay.


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The 8.2% figure is not the entire story. It reflects a specific but significant slice of tax data that includes preferential tax treatment of investment income that mainly benefits very wealthy individuals. It may not capture the full range of taxation for billionaires, who may or may not pay higher rates on ordinary income and other forms of earnings, which tend to be a small part of a billionaire’s gross income.

Fixed it.
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Your claim that billionaires only pay an 8% effective tax rate is a misunderstanding of how different tax rates are applied to various types of income. Here’s a breakdown:
  1. Different Measures: The 8.2% figure from the OMB and CEA refers specifically to the average effective federal income tax rate for the wealthiest 400 families, considering income from wealth (such as capital gains), which is taxed at lower rates compared to ordinary income. This does not mean the same rate applies universally to all forms of income for billionaires.
  2. Capital Gains vs. Ordinary Income: The effective rate of 8.2% reflects the lower taxation on capital gains compared to ordinary income. High-income earners, including billionaires, often benefit from lower tax rates on investment income, which skews the average rate lower than the rates applied to ordinary wages.
  3. Comprehensive Tax Rate: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) report effective tax rates that include a broader range of income sources and taxes. Their reports estimate that the effective federal income tax rate for the top 0.1% of earners is around 23-25%, considering all sources of income and tax obligations.
  4. Contextual Misinterpretation: The 8.2% figure is not the entire story. It reflects a specific cherry-picked slice of tax data that includes preferential tax treatment of investment income. It does not capture the full range of taxation for billionaires, who also pay higher rates on ordinary income and other forms of earnings. A TDS sufferer should still consider all sources of income and tax obligations so that they won't be so easily manipulated by CIA disinformation.
Thus, while the 8.2% figure highlights a lower effective rate on certain types of income, it doesn't accurately represent the overall federal tax burden for billionaires when all income types are considered.


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There ought to be a limit in the site's terms of use about generating your content from AI. It's a debate / discussion site, if you're not coming up with your own ideas, what's even the point of being here? What a weird way to service your ego, or chase clout or whatever you're doing. 
ADreamOfLiberty
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@ludofl3x
if you're not coming up with your own ideas, what's even the point of being here?
You trying to ban IWRA, Sidewalker, HistoryBuff, FLRW, and Double R?

Actually I think FLRWs unyielding obsession with Melania's sexual behavior might be authentically originating from himself. The rest is state propaganda to a T.
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@ludofl3x
There ought to be a limit in the site's terms of use about generating your content from AI. It's a debate / discussion site, if you're not coming up with your own ideas, what's even the point of being here? What a weird way to service your ego, or chase clout or whatever you're doing. 
It definitely takes less effort to respond to a known troll like Roosevelt. I don’t see a reason not to. AI did a great job proving how people don’t know the tax code 
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@ILikePie5
Shouldn't something taking LESS effort mean you can do it yourself? I don't need three tabs open to respond to anyone, regardless of effort level. If you don't think it's worth responding to, there's an even faster solution: don't respond. 
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@ludofl3x
Shouldn't something taking LESS effort mean you can do it yourself? I don't need three tabs open to respond to anyone, regardless of effort level. If you don't think it's worth responding to, there's an even faster solution: don't respond. 
I just don’t bother responding cause I don’t think trolls should be fed + I don’t have enough time. GP is doing the lords work by countering the troll, so idiots just don’t believe Roosevelt. He has the time to do it, so why not
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@ILikePie5
Shouldn't something taking LESS effort mean you can do it yourself? I don't need three tabs open to respond to anyone, regardless of effort level. If you don't think it's worth responding to, there's an even faster solution: don't respond. 
I just don’t bother responding cause I don’t think trolls should be fed + I don’t have enough time. GP is doing the lords work by countering the troll, so idiots just don’t believe Roosevelt. He has the time to do it, so why not
Exactly how I feel about it.

If AI was used to respond to actual arguments by an honest debater that would be informal fallacy, but IWRA doesn't make arguments and he does not debate. He insults, belittles, rants, and the only substantive assertions he ever makes are copy-pastes from the headlines (not the contents, the headlines) of the most unhinged left-tribe propaganda.
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@ludofl3x
If you don't think it's worth responding to, there's an even faster solution: don't respond. 
This is the solution most people resort to with this site, and the results speak for themselves.

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@ILikePie5
I really just enjoy all the creative ad-hom attacks against AI. I really could never start calling strangers names and get excited about that.

The rest is state propaganda to a T.
Plus, I am doing my part teaching the AI algorithm how to debunk propaganda and disinformation without name-calling using real world examples.
FLRW
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@ADreamOfLiberty
 
    C'mon Man! 
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@FLRW
He was complimenting your originality! Most people don't use sexual fetishes to push state propaganda.
IwantRooseveltagain
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@ILikePie5
I just don’t bother responding cause I don’t think trolls should be fed + I don’t have enough time. GP is doing the lords work by countering the troll, so idiots just don’t believe Roosevelt. He has the time to do it, so why not
You’re the one living in an alternate reality. You and all the other MAGA MORONS .

Reality has a well known liberal bias 

IwantRooseveltagain
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Plus, I am doing my part teaching the AI algorithm how to debunk propaganda and disinformation 
No you’re not. Your results speak for themselves. Your AI responses miss the mark and don’t address the subject being discussed. They are also filled with qualifiers.
such as  “sometimes, can, perhaps, may have, generally”

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They are also filled with qualifiers.
such as  “sometimes, can, perhaps, may have, generally”
Heavens forbid! people could actually have a nuanced conversation with zero hyperboles and obvious strawmen.

FLRW
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New OMB-CEA Report: Billionaires Pay an Average Federal Individual Income Tax Rate of Just 8.2%
Today, we’re releasing a new analysis that draws on a range of publicly available data to shed light on this question. The analysis from OMB and CEA economists estimates that the wealthiest 400 billionaire families in America paid an average of just 8.2 percent of their income—including income from their wealth that goes largely untaxed—in Federal individual income taxes between 2010 and 2018. That’s a lower rate than many ordinary Americans pay.
This disparity is driven largely by the way our tax code treats income generated from wealth—that is, income from assets like stocks that increase in value over time. When a middle class American earns a dollar of wages, that dollar is taxed immediately. But when a billionaire makes a dollar because their stocks increase in value, that dollar is taxed at a preferred rate—if it’s ever taxed at all. If a wealthy investor never sells an asset that has increased in value, those investment gains are entirely ignored for income tax purposes when the assets are passed on to an heir, thanks to stepped-up basis.
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@FLRW
The claim that the wealthiest 400 billionaire families paid an average federal individual income tax rate of just 8.2% between 2010 and 2018, as reported by the OMB and CEA, is based on a specific cherry-picked interpretation of income that only includes unrealized capital gains. While the figure is technically accurate under this narrowly defined methodology, it is clearly misleading political propaganda without context, particularly when comparing it to the tax rates paid by ordinary Americans.

Unrealized Capital Gains: The 8.2% figure includes unrealized capital gains, which are the increases in the value of assets like stocks that have not been sold. These gains are not typically taxed until the assets are sold, according to U.S. tax law. Therefore, this rate doesn't represent the actual tax paid on income that has been realized, but rather an estimate fabricated by government officials that includes potential future taxes that could be owed if those gains were realized.

Traditional Income vs. Wealth: Most Americans' income comes from wages, which are taxed immediately at standard income tax rates. For billionaires, a significant portion of their wealth comes from investments, which are taxed at lower capital gains rates or remain untaxed until the assets are sold. The 8.2% rate conflates the taxation of realized income with unrealized gains, creating a comparison that doesn’t align with how income taxes are typically understood.

Contextual Misinterpretation: While the report highlights an important issue regarding how wealth is taxed differently from income, using the 8.2% figure without explaining its cherry-picked and biased methodology in unrealized capital gains can mislead people into thinking that billionaires are paying lower taxes on their actual, realized income than they are. In reality, when only realized income is considered, the effective tax rate for the wealthiest Americans is significantly higher, as other analyses (such as those from the CBO and ITEP) suggest rates closer to 23-25%.

In summary, while the 8.2% figure raises valid concerns about the possible preferential treatment of investment income in the tax code under a biased cherry-picked methodology, it is misleading without proper context, as it compares different types of income and taxes. To fully understand the tax burden on billionaires, it’s important to distinguish between actual realized income, which is taxed at a higher rate, and fictional unrealized gains, which are not taxed until the assets are sold.

IwantRooseveltagain
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is based on a specific cherry-picked interpretation of income that only includes unrealized capital gains. 
Nothing wrong with that. As you know, when those assets transfer to heirs the basis is stepped up and the tax is never applied to those gains.

Perhaps we need a new system of taxation where we tax wealth instead of work.

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@FLRW
This disparity is driven largely by the way our tax code treats income generated from wealth—that is, income from assets like stocks that increase in value over time. When a middle class American earns a dollar of wages, that dollar is taxed immediately. But when a billionaire makes a dollar because their stocks increase in value, that dollar is taxed at a preferred rate—if it’s ever taxed at all. If a wealthy investor never sells an asset that has increased in value, those investment gains are entirely ignored for income tax purposes when the assets are passed on to an heir, thanks to stepped-up basis.
What would you prefer to be the case instead?
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Contextual Misinterpretation: While the report highlights an important issue regarding how wealth is taxed differently from income, using the 8.2% figure without explaining its cherry-picked and biased methodology in unrealized capital gains can mislead people into thinking that billionaires are paying lower taxes on their actual, realized income than they are. In reality, when only realized income is considered, the effective tax rate for the wealthiest Americans is significantly higher, as other analyses (such as those from the CBO and ITEP) suggest rates closer to 23-25%.
When Mitt Romney released his tax returns, he had an effective tax rate of 13% on his 25 million dollar income.

Warren Buffet has also been open about how low his taxes are. 

Even if they are paying 25%, Should millionaires and billionaires have the same effective tax rate as a married couple making 500k?

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@Greyparrot
Precisely. This is why I like to pay off loans and buy goods and services with certificates of appreciated stock  whenever possible. That way, I can spend money that has never been taxed!
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@cristo71
lol
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@FLRW
Precisely. This is why I like to pay off loans and buy goods and services with certificates of appreciated stock  whenever possible. That way, I can spend money that has never been taxed!

I am gonna guess this is beyond your abilities Einstein.