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iluvtennis

(19,758 posts)
Mon Dec 2, 2019, 01:03 PM Dec 2019

Wealth change since 1982: Kochs, Waltons, Mars vs median American income


Robert Reich
@RBReich
Wealth change since 1982:

Kochs, Waltons, Mars: ⬆️6,000%

Median American household: ⬇️3%

We desperately need a wealth tax to rein in this out-of-control inequality.





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And the nutcase occupying the White House gave the wealthy corps another 25% with his tax scam bill.
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Wealth change since 1982: Kochs, Waltons, Mars vs median American income (Original Post) iluvtennis Dec 2019 OP
In 1980 tax rates for the highest bracket were 70% csziggy Dec 2019 #1
thanks for that research Hermit-The-Prog Dec 2019 #2
Wow, agree wth the other poster - thanks for all of the research/details. iluvtennis Dec 2019 #3

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
1. In 1980 tax rates for the highest bracket were 70%
Mon Dec 2, 2019, 01:59 PM
Dec 2019

70% for over $215,400 if filing jointly, over $108,300 if single, and over $161,300 filing as Head of Household.
https://taxfoundation.org/us-federal-individual-income-tax-rates-history-1913-2013-nominal-and-inflation-adjusted-brackets/

In 2013 (the most recent year at the same source) the highest tax bracket was 39.6% for over $450,000, $400,000, and $425 (same breakdown).

Ronald Reagan's tax cuts started this - he cut the top rate to 50% in 1982, 38.5% in 1987, 28% in 1988.

Same for inheritance taxes - in 1980 wealth above $161,000 was taxed at 70%, in 1982 above %225,000 was at 65%, 1987-1997 above $600,000 at 55%, in 2014 over $5,340,000 at 40%.
https://ballotpedia.org/Estate_and_inheritance_taxes

In 2019, the exemption (untaxed amount) for estate taxes is $11,400,000 per person.
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estate-tax

It's not as though ducking inheritance taxes is complicated - there are plenty of ways to gift wealth to heirs, pay for life insurance to cover much of the taxes (tip - put the life insurance into a trust, use the untaxed yearly gift to pay premiums, and there are no tax consequences to the entire thing), or use other ways to convey portions of the wealth before death.

In addition, most people will not have an estate close to what will be taxed at all - how many individuals will be worth over $11,400,000 at death, or couples worth twice that much?

It is time to return taxes levels to where they were when the middle class was growing and the Federal government was not sliding into crippling debt!

Hermit-The-Prog

(33,041 posts)
2. thanks for that research
Mon Dec 2, 2019, 02:12 PM
Dec 2019

That wealth production didn't happen without costs and those costs are shifted more and more onto the rest of us.

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