Tag Archives: Wealth Inequality

Taxes: Income and Property

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“In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Ben Franklin

After-tax income inequality has grown over the long term. Between 1979 and 2018, the share of aggregate after-tax income of the top 1% of households grew significantly from 7.4% to 13.6%. In contrast, the shares for the bottom 90 percent of households declined. Tax Policy CenterWealth inequality has also widened. The average white household had $402,000 in unrealized capital gains in 2019, compared with $94,000 for Black households and $130,000 for Hispanic or Latino households. These disparities have generally widened over time. Tax Policy Center

Virtually all families hold some amount of financial assets, broadly defined as brokerage, checking, savings and retirement accounts to name a few. While 98% of families held checking or savings accounts in 2019, only 50% of families held retirement accounts and 15% owned stocks. Tax Policy Center

Salaries and wages are the largest sources of income for most households. In 2018, they comprised 68% of total adjusted gross income across all individual income tax returns, but only 17% for those with incomes over $10 million. Tax Policy Center

Income from capital gains made up about 8% of aggregate adjusted gross income (AGI) in 2018, but this varied by income level. For those with AGI over $10 million, capital gains accounted for nearly half of their income. Tax Policy Center

In 2019, the median net worth for those with college degrees was four times higher than for those with high school diplomas and nearly 15 times higher than for those without high school diplomas. Tax Policy Center

Overall, the share of US families with education loan debt went from 9% in 1989 to 21% in 2019. About 30% of Black families had education loan debt in 2019, compared with 20% of White families and 14% of Latino families. Tax Policy Center

Federal taxes are moderately progressive overall. In 2018, the top 1% had 16.6% of total income before taxes and 13.6% after taxes. Contrastingly, the lowest quintile had 3.8% before taxes and 7.1% after taxes. Tax Policy Center

In fiscal year 2019, state and local governments raised $577 billion in property taxes. As a share of general revenue, New Hampshire relied the most on property tax revenue (36%) whereas Alabama and New Mexico relied the least (7%). Tax Policy Center

State and local taxes as a share of income ranged from 7% in Tennessee to 15% in North Dakota in 2019. This does not measure comparative tax burdens on states’ residents because it includes taxes on business activities borne by residents of other states. Tax Policy Center

Total tax revenue (including federal, state, and local taxes) as a share of GDP was 24.5% for the US in 2019. Tax Policy Center

Wealthier Americans may be more stressed regarding inflation, economic uncertainty and market volatility, but lower-income Americans have much more to fear from rising prices and are experiencing greater daily impact to their wallets. They tend to have less financial cushion to handle higher prices for food, gas, and other necessities, according to the Tax Policy Center.

The above financial inequality and tax snippets are interesting facts/information garnered from the nonprofit Tax Policy Center.

References:

  1. https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/fiscal-fact/top-1-income
  2. https://www.axios.com/wealth-inflation-fears-money-financial-assets-52779e2d-8940-4b87-85cd-29c65744fb29.html

Top Americans by Wealth own Most of U.S. Equity Stocks

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Top 10% of Americans by wealth own 87% of all U.S. equity stocks

The top 10% of Americans by wealth owned 87% of all stock outstanding in the first quarter, according to research from the Federal Reserve. That share has grown over the past decade, from 82.4% in 2009.  Fed researchers say the increase in wealth among the top 10% is largely a result of that cohort obtaining a larger concentration of assets. These increases were mirrored by decreases for households in the 50-90th percentiles of the wealth distribution,” Fed researchers said.

The percentage of Americans who own stock, either directly or through retirement or mutual funds, is falling. It most recently stood at about 55%, according to an April Gallup poll, down from a high of 67% in 2002.

“The middle class has essentially been left out of the stock market surge,” said Edward Wolff, an economics professor at New York University. “The rich have taken off from the rest of society.”

S&P 500 and NASDAQ indexes have closed at all time highs

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ have soared to a new high, wiping out its losses since the worst of the coronavirus-induced downturn in March. Stocks continue to shrug off historic unemployment rates and other economic warning signs.

The S&P 500, the benchmark U.S. stock index, has surged more than 50% since bottoming in March and is back at record levels, largely thanks to the unprecedented stimulus programs enacted by the Federal Reserve and Congress.

Although the stock market has erased its losses suffered during the pandemic, the economy appears to be telling a different story. It contracted at the sharpest rate on record in the second quarter, and the unemployment rate remained above 10% in July, after reaching nearly 15% in April.

The current disconnect between the stock market and the economy is extremely unusual.  The economy is not confirming the stock market’s strength. The stock market has surged since March 2020 lows, with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ indexes eclipsing all time highs in August 2020.

FOMC acknowledged that after the initial surge in job losses and plunge in economic activity, things have started to improve. According to the statement, “Following sharp declines, economic activity and employment have picked up somewhat in recent months but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year.”