When Democrats talk like Republicans -- Bob Kerrey on Lawrence O'Donnell this evening

[hfojvt]

44. sorry, Sam, you are just wrong about itemized deductions

get your tax facts here http://journals.democraticunderground.com/hfojvt/169

Who gets most of the benefits from itemized deductions? http://journals.democraticunderground.com/hfojvt/151

Those two groups (tax filers with AGI between $10,000 and $60,000) together are 65% of all adult taxpayers, only 22.8% itemize their deductions, and they only get 22% of the total.

...

Then there's the other side. 321,294 filers make over $1,000,000, and almost 97% of them itemize their deductions. They are .28% of all adult taxpayers, but they get almost 11% of the total deductions. Since they pay at the highest rates, their deductions are also worth more. They get $141.6 billion in deductions whereas their standard deductions would be no more than $4 billion. Their itemized deductions are thus worth about $45 billion or about $141,000 per household.

The next richest group also does very well with itemized deductions. Those with incomes between $100,000 and $1,000,000. There are only 17.9 million of them which is only 15.4% of adult taxpayers, but they get 44.4% of the benefits as 88% of them itemize. They get $579 billion in itemized deductions versus the $204 billion they'd get from standard deductions. (and the $240 billion they'd get from the proposed higher deduction). That's about $118 billion a year in tax breaks going to a group that is in the top 20%.


78% of the benefits of itemized deductions goto those with AGI of more that $60,000. Less than 23% of those with incomes less than $60,000 itemized their deductions.

Getting rid of itemized deductions would NOT "hurt the middle and poor classes the most". It would "hurt" the rich and UPPER middle class the most.