Second, the wealthy can choose when their capital gains income appears on their income tax returns and even prevent it from ever appearing. In particular, income from dividends and from stock sales is taxed at a maximum of 20 percent (23.8 percent including the net investment income tax), which is much lower than the maximum 37 percent (40.8 percent) ordinary rate that applies to other income. First, much of their income is taxed at preferred rates. The wealthy pay low income tax rates, year after year, for two primary reasons. How the wealthy enjoy low income tax: preferred rates on an incomplete measure of income This analysis asks: what was the average Federal individual income tax rate paid by the 400 wealthiest American families’ in recent years, determined using a more comprehensive measure of income? Yet the most common estimates of tax rates do not fully capture the value of this tax benefit because they use an incomplete measure of income. Investment gains are a primary source of income for the wealthy, making this preferential treatment of investment gains a valuable benefit for the wealthiest Americans. But when they gain a dollar because their stocks increase in value, that dollar is taxed at a low preferred rate, or never at all. When an American earns a dollar of wages, that dollar is taxed immediately at ordinary income tax rates. The President’s proposals mitigate two key contributors to the low estimated rate: preferential tax rates on capital gains and dividend income, and wealthy families’ ability to avoid paying income tax on capital gains through a provision known as stepped-up basis. We also present sensitivity analyses that yield estimates in the 6-12 percent range. In our primary analysis, we estimate an average Federal individual income tax rate of 8.2 percent for the period 2010-2018. We do so using publicly available statistics from the IRS Statistics of Income Division, the Survey of Consumer Finances, and Forbes magazine. Get Involved Show submenu for “Get Involved””īy Greg Leiserson, Senior Economist (CEA) and Danny Yagan, Chief Economist (OMB)Ībstract: We estimate the average Federal individual income tax rate paid by America’s 400 wealthiest families, using a relatively comprehensive measure of their income that includes income from unsold stock.The White House Show submenu for “The White House””.Office of the United States Trade Representative.Office of Science and Technology Policy.Executive Offices Show submenu for “Executive Offices””.Administration Show submenu for “Administration””.
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