What percentage of their income do the rich actually pay in taxes?

Politicians use figures that suit them based on which taxes you are looking at.

Federal tax includes includes businesses who only pay tax on income after expenses that includes huge salaries, options, and other business expenses. The very wealthy have tax attorneys and are able to shelter much of their income from federal taxes.

However, when you add in state and local taxes here are the facts.

The bottom 80% earn 38.6% of total income. Their total tax as a percent of income:

Lowest 20% - 16%

Second 20% - 20.5%

Third 20% - 25.3%

Fourth 20% - 28.5%

The next 19% earn 40.1% of total income. Their total tax as a percent of income:

Next 19% - 31%

The top 1% earn 21.3% of total income. Their total tax as a percent of income:

Top 1% - 30.8%

Here is a great resource.

http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/we...

It's not the Rich... the "upper/middle/lower class" are all considered part of the 99%

Your talking about the Elite the MultiBillionaires, not the Rich.

(rich/upper class is still part of the 99% )

Elite Deritatives

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Mut...

http://www.thehiddenevil.com/foundations.asp

Tax Exempt Foundations.

http://modernhistoryproject.org/mhp?Article=FinalW...

"You cannot tax them.

Their wealth and profits have long left the country.

They are Transnationalists !

In fact if you look into the bylaws of how the BIS, IMF, and World Bank are written they are actually immune from any form of taxation by any country.

They cannot even be prosecuted. They are legally above all laws. "

http://www.care2.com/causes/the-price-of-civilizat...

Certain Elites exempt from paying "taxes"

http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/14/taxing-the-elite-fo...

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/oct2011/summ-o10...

Australians Elites, call for tax cuts ^

"The underlying theme of the tax summit was that the profitability and wealth of the corporate elite must be protected at the expense of the majority of the population."

Hope that change can happen... http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/11/washington-...

*** The SYSTEM is FLAWED at a GLOBAL scale. ***

the cons are clearly counting pre-reduction and every tax possible... state sales tax, state income tax, national taxes, car taxes, property taxes... everything

the dems are clearly focusing on people like warren buffet who makes most of his money by trading stock and the capital gains tax is at like 15 percent... of course, not all rich people make their money this way... he even said he pays less as a percentage than his secretary...

in short, there are a lot of taxes and many different ways you can figure them... but overall, the very wealthy probably pay less taxes today than they have at any time since the 1920s... but they still pay more than poor people, on average...

the upper middle class (depending on where you live, you may consider this wealthy) may be getting hit harder than ever before though with all the taxes

In a high tax city in a high tax state, such as New York City, the total tax burden on a wealthy individual can easily exceed 60%.

there are many sites that give you logical breakdown of the amount rich people pay - they do pay more ---- my family would be considered rich and I know everyone of them pays a lot more than most - it's just propaganda they don't pay more that is put out by the Democrats who also say the rich are all Republican which another big big lie - Obama is a multimillionaire which just happened since he became Prez - wonder how? He only served as Senator for about 150 days before that College teacher - I taught college and I was paid less than my jobs with the government.

It depends on their taxable income after deductions.

It's a lie that the rich pay less than the middle class. Just a plain lie.

Not everyone earns their income via capital gains, especially those earning $250K. Do you think it's fair that a person earning $250K is taxed at the same rate as a person earning $25 million? Obama does.

The IRS tax brackets are published and available everywhere. Which is why Obama's lies are having such a hard time catching on.

I have never heard that 70% claim but it is very high. Rich people are getting fed up and leaving the country. One day all the REAL workers will follow them.

Romney filed his finacial disclosure form..made $40m paid 14% tax

A hell of a lot more than you