In our latest Facebook Live interview, I speak with Romina Boccia, an economic policy expert at the Heritage Foundation (and former employee of IWF!). We discuss some of the misperceptions in the media about that latest tax reform plans proposed by President Trump, and we also tackle the question of if the rich do, indeed, pay their fair share.
As Boccia points out, most Americans do believe the highest 10% of income earners should pay more in taxes — and often say those earners should pay around 40% [of the federal taxes]. In reality, most people have no idea what amount they are already paying now. In fact, the top 10% of earners bear 70% of all income taxes in the United States.
"This makes the United States one of the most progressive nations in the world…in most other countries, including in Europe and Canada, middle class individuals bear more of the tax burden," she said.
We also spoke about cutting the corporate tax rate in the US, which is currently nearly double the average corporate tax rate around the world. Boccia noted that the higher the corporate tax rate, the higher the burden on low-wage workers, whose earnings are affected greatly by the increasing pressures on the businesses for which they work. Lower corporate tax rates, she said, will help workers earn higher wages.
"It is absolutely clear that it is workers that bear the weight of the corporate tax, and who end up benefitting the most from a corporate rate reduction," Boccia said.
Learn more about proposed tax reforms, including greatly needed simplification of the tax code, which hasn't been reformed since 1986 and other ways the new proposal will help individuals and families: