Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
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