We’ve heard much about the 1 percent vs. the 99 percent, and how the system is rigged so the 1 percent get a better deal. But there’s inequality within the one percent as well. What about the 99 percent vs. the 1 percent? Some of those poor 99 percent folks suffer under a terrible tax burden.
Look at the inequality among these tax rates in 2010 compared to Adjusted Gross Income. Tax returns available at http://www.taxhistory.org.
Rick Santorum AGI: $923,411. Santorum tax rate: 28.5 percent.
Barack Obama AGI: $1,728,096. Obama tax rate: 26.3 percent.
Mitt Romney AGI: $21,646,507. Romney tax rate: 13.9 percent.
In 2010, Romney got to keep $18,636,741. But suppose Romney paid the minimum 30 percent tax rate for those making over $1 million per Obama’s State of the Union. He would only get to keep $15,152,555. How could he survive?
But Romney has a plan for those with high incomes (http://www.taxpolicycenter.org). The Romney tax plan almost doubles the rate on the bottom 20 percent of all taxpayers compared to Obama’s plan, but provides that the upper one percent will pay rates 28.6 percent lower (10.4 percentage points lower) than Obama proposes. Perhaps he’s taking care of his base?
