Social Classes

How are social classes effected by tax codes?

The income gap between America’s richest and poorest more than doubled from 1989 to 2016. Tax breaks help to create this because they disproportionately affect the rich. The result: the top 10% are making more but paying less in taxes than the lower class and the lower class struggle to pay the price of living.

The Lower Class

With a decline in social programs and an ineffective minimum wage, the lower class is struggling to keep up with the rest of America. Taxes make up most of, if not all of these families income, leaving many food insecure. While everyone has the ability to use tax breaks, the lower class do not have the money to donate and by properties at the same rate the wealthy do.

The Wealthy

The United States' growing income inequality is greater than any other developed country and even larger than seen in its own history in almost a century. Warren Buffet pays less taxes than his secretary, president Donald Trump allegedly paid no taxes for a decade, and U.S. billionaire's wealth grew by $845 billion during the first 6 months of the covid pandemic. This happens because tax codes allow the upper class to make more money by paying less taxes. People who make 400k or more make up about 5% of taxpayers, but get more than half the benefits of these tax deductions. The more money you make, the more properties you own, and the more these deductions take off money from your taxes.