
45% of Americans Pay No Federal Income Tax - clarkmoody
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/45-of-americans-pay-no-federal-income-tax-2016-02-24
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mikeyouse
Thanks Mitt Romney.

 _" Roughly half pay no federal income tax because they have no taxable
income, and the other roughly half get enough tax breaks to erase their tax
liability, explains Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy
Center."_

So something like 22% of households have literally 0 taxable income, and the
remaining 22/23% earn so little that the standard deduction + FICA/SSI + other
deductions zero out their taxable income. Those lucky duckies, earning so
little money that they don't pay one type of tax!

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banku_brougham
This headline makes the rounds every year. Perfect example of how to 'lie'
with statistics, but at least this one includes the qualifier 'Federal'.

I say it's a lie because the implication of the headline is that a bunch of
moochers are getting over on us righteous tax-payin Americans. But with FICA,
state taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, etc these same non-federal-tax-paying
citizens have a higher tax rate than Warren Buffet.

~~~
Torgo
Buffett paid almost seven million dollars in federal taxes in 2011, that's a
huge absolute amount for a single individual and whatever the rate that is for
him, I'm finding it really hard to frame him as a moocher compared to almost
half the country paying literally 0%.

~~~
dallbee
Another thing that hasn't been mentioned is age & school status. From 18-23 I
worked part time and never had to pay taxes. I was part of that group who
zeroed out, and now I contribute $20,000 per year (proudly, I might add). Am I
a moocher?

~~~
Torgo
You make a good point. 45% of the country are probably part time workers aged
18-23, who soon will become more valuable contributors to the economy than
Warren Buffett.

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aorth
Article mentions that 77 million "households" either have no taxable income or
"half get enough tax breaks to erase their tax liability." Just for reference,
there are also a handful of people who qualify for the Foreign Earned Income
Exclusion, which is a legal exemption from paying federal income taxes if you,
for example, are outside of the US for more than 330 days a year.

\- [https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-
Taxpayers/Fore...](https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-
Taxpayers/Foreign-Earned-Income-Exclusion)

\- [https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-
Taxpayers/Fore...](https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-
Taxpayers/Foreign-Earned-Income-Exclusion---Requirements)

