Phyllis Schlafly, the attorney and conservative political activist, has published a piece arguing against the United States’ progressive tax structure, in which
“„The outright cash handouts include the earned income tax credit (EITC), which can amount to $5,657 a year to low-income families. Financial benefits can include child tax credits, welfare, food stamps, WIC (women, infants, children), housing subsidies, unemployment benefits, Medicaid, S-CHIP and other programs. This is a massive transfer of wealth and a soak-the-rich racket.
“„The 47 percent number is not wrong. The stimulus programs of the last two years — the first one signed by President George W. Bush, the second and larger one by President Obama — have increased the number of households that receive enough of a tax credit to wipe out their federal income tax liability.
“„But the modifiers here — federaland income— are important. Income taxes aren’t the only kind of federal taxes that people pay. There are also payroll taxes and capital gains taxes, among others. And, of course, people pay state and local taxes, too. Even if the discussion is restricted to federal taxes (for which the statistics are better), a vast majority of households end up paying federal taxes. Congressional Budget Office data suggeststhat, at most, about 10 percent of all households pay no net federal taxes. The number 10 is obviously a lot smaller than 47.