Richest Families Pay Tax Rate 5% Lower Than Average Americans

The wealthiest families in the U.S. paid a tax rate 5% lower than the average American, according to an analysis published Thursday.

From 2010 to 2018, the 400 wealthiest American families paid an 8.2% average rate on their federal individual income taxes on $1.8 trillion of income. The richest families represent 0.0002% of the country’s taxpayers.

The White House analysis looked at wealthy Americans who earned between $2.1 billion and $160 billion in 2018.

In comparison, average Americans paid a 13.3% average tax rate on their income in 2018. The same group of taxpayers paid $1.5 trillion in income taxes overall in 2018, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation.

In 2021, individuals who earn taxable income between $0 and $9,950 -- the lowest tax bracket in the U.S. -- have a 10% federal income tax rate. Single filers earning $523,601 or more have an income tax rate of 37%.

The 8.2% average tax rate for wealthy Americans was also much lower than the 14.3% average tax rate in 2015, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center.

"I'm sick and tired of the super-wealthy and giant corporations not paying their fair share in taxes. It's time for it to change," President Joe Biden tweeted in a reaction to the analysis.

Democrats have proposed plans to raise money from wealthy Americans and big corporations to finance the government’s spending plans, which include funding for education, paid leave, healthcare, childcare and climate change policies.

“We reached an agreement on a framework, a menu of options, that will pay for any final negotiated [legislation],” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a press conference Thursday.

Democrats are still haggling over several issues in the plan, including new carbon taxes and new bank-reporting requirements. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said that Democrats are unlikely to impose a tax increase on inheritances passed between generations as of the moment, according to The Washington Post.