I was listening to the Minnesota substitute for Rush on November 1 who said that the richest 1% earned 21% of the income but paid 39% of income taxes. Then he said that if you include all taxes then the richest 1% pay 24% of all taxes including payroll taxes.

Now, to me, that sounds like an absurdly low amount for the rich to pay. They make 21% of the income but only pay 24% of the taxes. That seems like it is almost a flat tax rate.

One problem I have is that I don’t know how much the total tax rate is.

If the total tax paid is 30% of income then the richest 1% pays at a 34% tax rate and the lowest 99% pay at a 29% tax rate.

If the total rate is 20% then the rates are 23% for the richest 1% and 19% for the rest of us.

If the total rate is 40% then the rates are 46% for the richest 1% and 38% for the rest of us.

No matter what the ratio of total taxes to total income is, the rate that is paid is virtually flat.

If we were to flatten the income tax more than it is, then it is possible that the rich would actually pay at a lower rate than the rest of us.