Richest get even richer

The wealthiest Americans took a record slice of the income pie in 2005, a bigger helping than in the late-1990s bull market. A new report from the Internal Revenue Service revealed that two years ago, the top 1% of earners took home 21.2% of the adjusted gross income share in the nation. That is up from 19% from 2004, and it also beats the previous high of 20.8% in 2000. These data came from a sample of tax returns and measure “adjusted gross income,” the amount of income left after certain deductions. The stats reveal a widening wealth gap, as the bottom 50% of earners brought in just 12.83%of the adjusted gross income share in 2005, a new low. That’s down slightly from 13.42% in 2004. Even in the year when the wealthiest Americans had the most money, the bottom half of earners accounted for 12.99% of the income share – now the second lowest amount in the 21 years the IRS has been tracking the data. On the other hand, the wealthiest Americans are also paying even more taxes than before: Their share reached a record high, jumping to 39.38% from 36.89% in 2004. Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of the returns covered 3.07% of all income tax, down from 3.30% in 2004.