I continually hear concerns about billionaires and the "rich" not paying their fair share of income tax.
Yet, according to the Tax Foundation’s 2025 update to the latest federal income tax data, the top 1% of income earners paid 40.4% of the 2022 income tax versus those earning less than $50,339, which make up 50% of income earners, who paid 3% of the total 2022 income tax that was collected.
That sure doesn’t sound to me like the top 1% of earners are not paying their fair share.
Maybe the other 99% income earners are not paying their fair share?
What would really be fair is a flat tax that is the same for all incomes above the poverty level.
Eliminating deductions and implementing a flat tax would get rid of tens of thousands of pages of tax code, greatly simplify filing a tax return and reduce the need for IRS staff. Most importantly, it would ensure that everyone is paying their fair share.
Albert Bendure
Thayne, Wyoming
