Almost half of taxpayers pay no federal income tax, report says

Did you pay any federal income tax from the in 2009. If you did, you’re very close to being in the minority, according to a new report from the Tax Policy Center.

The Associated Press combines that statistic with another report to conclude:

The result is a tax system that exempts almost half the country from paying for programs that benefit everyone, including national defense, public safety, infrastructure and education. It is a system in which the top 10 percent of earners — households making an average of $366,400 in 2006 — paid about 73 percent of the income taxes collected by the federal government.

But the Tax Policy Center says 73% of us pay some form of federal tax, just not income tax.

They pay Social Security and Medicare taxes when they work, sales taxes when they buy things and property taxes on their homes. Drivers pay gasoline taxes, and smokers and drinkers pay excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol.

That includes 99.7 percent of people making over $1 million a year, the group says.