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Nov 1, 2017

Who pays federal taxes, by income

Caitlin Owens

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to release its tax bill on Thursday — after being delayed a day — and it's sure to come under fire from Democrats for being a boon to the wealthy. While the merits of who wins and who loses under the plan can be debated, the fact of the matter is that the wealthy pay a larger proportion of federal taxes — so any tax cut will almost certainly benefit the wealthy.

What to watch: Whether the tax bill also relieves the tax burden on the middle and lower class, and by how much.

Data: Tax Policy Center; Note: Income brackets defined by expanded tax income in 2017 dollars, including both filing and non-filing units but excluding those that are dependents of other tax units; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios
Data: Tax Policy Center; Note: Income brackets defined by expanded tax income in 2017 dollars, including both filing and non-filing units but excluding those that are dependents of other tax units; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios

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