Oct 7, 2019

The overall tax rate for the richest 400 households last year was 23%

Axios

Hudson Yards neighborhood in Manhattan. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The 400 wealthiest Americans last year paid a lower total tax rate for federal, state and local taxes than any other income group for the first time on record, according to the New York Times.

Why it matters: Tax rate for the wealthy has steadily dropped since the 1950s and 1960s, when the wealthy paid vastly higher tax rates than the middle class or poor.

By the numbers: The overall tax rate for the richest 400 households last year was 23%, down from 70% in 1950 and 47% in 1980.

The data used in the piece comes from the from a book called “The Triumph of Injustice,” to be released next week.
The authors are University of California, Berkeley professors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, who are economic advisers to Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign.

Go deeper: Americans are saving at an unusually high level after Trump's tax cuts

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The overall tax rate for the richest 400 households last year was 23%

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