A few weeks ago while driving, I saw a large banner on the overpass of Route 4 in Paramus with a bunch of people behind it, and it looked like a party. It’s possible I didn’t read the sign correctly because I didn’t want to crash, but found the “Tax Them” part of the sign interesting, especially being a CPA who thrives on numbers, stats and analysis. Being apolitical and curious about the sign, this made me wonder who is paying the majority of income taxes to the Federal Government? Let’s take a look and see:
| Income Group | % of Total Federal Individual Income Taxes Paid |
| Top 1% | 38.4% |
| Top 5% | 59.3% |
| Top 10% | 70.5% |
| Top 25% | 86.3% |
| Top 50% | 96.7% |
| Bottom 50% | 3.3% |
This information is derived directly from the IRS from the year 2023, SOI Tax Stats, Table 4.1. The stats do not include other types of taxes or the net worth of taxpayers. Let me know what you think and please don’t hurt the messenger. I just like numbers and stats, which is why I’m a CPA.