Anyone know how much the rich (upper 1%) pay as a proportion of personal federal income taxes? Is it fair?

How about the upper 5%? How much of the overall tax burden should such people assume without negatively impacting their incentive to earn more money?

Public Comments

1. Whatever it is, or isn't (their share of the taxes) the middle class will have to make it up! The rich get richer, and the middle and lower class pay the difference!
2. well if you make a million $ a year, you can save 500,000 approx. If you make 40,000, a few thousand I'm guessing here.
3. I would love to see how much of the overall taxes that they make up... and how much do the loopholes help them... I've heard a lot, and I know some people who are weathy and they know a few tricks to cut down on what they pay.... We all know the most profitable business in America, the oil compaines have tax cuts from the government... I wonder about the personal taxes? blackcorgi... aren't there "tax-free" investments that you make? or deductions that you have that cut down on that percentage considerably?... wouldn't anyone that makes that much be "a fool" to not take adavantage of these (no offense if you don't)?
4. I am in the top 5% of earners and I pay 40% of my income in Federal tax and another 10% in State tax, plus 7.5% Social Security. Therefore I pay about 57.5% of my income in taxes. Isn't that enough, you think?
5. Think about this in apples. For fun, let's say that the total wealth of a nation of three people is 100 apples. A rich man owns 80 apples, a middle class person ownes 17, and a poor man ownes 3. Let's say that this nation can sell it's apples to buy water for 30 apples and each of the three people must give up a share of apples to buy the water. If we say that every person must give up 30% of their apples, the rich man gives up 24, the middle man gives up 5, and the poor man gives up 1. In the end, that leaves the rich with 56 apples, the middle with 12, and the poor with 2. Two apples, we all know, won't feed anyone, and the poor person will soon either die, steal apples from others, or become a burden. The 56 apples that the rich has left will feed a lot. So it would be better for the nation to have the rich man give up a higher percentage of apples for the good of the whole country.
6. The richest 1 percent or 5 percent of the people pay no or little federal income tax. They receive their compensation through other means and pay capital gains taxes which are only 15 percent for example. You are talking about PAYCHECK TAXES HERE. People who work long and hard to earn low 6 figure incomes as the RICHEST. How outrageous. Like they are all getting off their yachts and taking the limo to their private jet, like the actual rich people. The richest people whether Kerry or Bush or any other multi millionaires you know pay little or no income tax except for their govt. salaries.