The Income and Tax Share of Very High-Income Households, 1960-1995

An examination is made of the income and tax share of very high-income households from 1960-1995. Summary information is presented on changes over time in the fraction of aggregate income that accrues to households in the top 0.5% of the population. This information is tabulated from the U.S. Treasu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American economic review 2000-05, Vol.90 (2), p.264-270
Main Authors: Feenberg, Daniel R., Poterba, James M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adjusted gross income
Adusted gross income
Capital gains
Capital income
Chief executive officers
Dividends
Earnings
Economic history
Foreign labor
Gross income
High income
History
Household economics
Household income
Households
Income distribution
Income shares
Income taxes
Stock shares
Studies
Tax rates
Tax returns
Taxation
Taxing the Rich
Taxpaying
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Summary:An examination is made of the income and tax share of very high-income households from 1960-1995. Summary information is presented on changes over time in the fraction of aggregate income that accrues to households in the top 0.5% of the population. This information is tabulated from the U.S. Treasury's annual releases of the Individual Tax Model data file over the period 1960-1995. Some sensitivity analysis is performed and it is found that there are very similar results when the focus is on the top 1% or the top 0.25% of households. Changes in the tax law over time have resulted in fluctuations in the ratio of tax-filers to households.
ISSN:0002-8282
1944-7981
DOI:10.1257/aer.90.2.264