The Rich STILL Pay at a Lower Rate than the Rest of Us.
Rich people do not pay the 15% Social Security tax on all of their incomes, only on the first $100,000 or so (amount changes each year).
Hence, a rich guy, with all of his tax breaks, pays somewhere about 15% to 20% of his income in Federal Income Tax.
The middle class schmuck, on the other hand, STARTS with 15% and has the rest of the income tax added to this, typically another 15% to 20%.
This leaves the rich guys paying at about HALF the rate of the middle class.
The rich are growing richer, and the rest of us are growing poorer, and THAT is why the top 1% are paying more taxes than the rest of us, despite their LOWER tax rate.
David F Mayer