Under-Taxed Americans

A litany of tax facts from a great article by Kevin G. Hall:

• Revenues plunged to around 15 percent of the economy in 2009 and 2010...and dipped further this year, to 14.4 percent, the lowest level since 1950.
• Federal spending this year was 25.3 percent of GDP.
• The federal budget deficit: $1.6 trillion.
• Americans across all income classes paid lower effective tax rates in 2007 than they did in 2000.
• The top 1 percent paid 39.5 percent of all U.S. income taxes in 2007 - but taxes take a smaller share of their wealth today than historic post-World War II norms.
• Americans on average saw 17.3 percent of their income go to federal taxes in 2009 and 2010. The last time the percentage was this low was 1975, and during the late 1960s.