According to a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report released this month, income earners in the top quintile of households have been hit the hardest by the Great Recession.
Per the CBO:
Average before-tax income fell between 2007 and 2009 for households in all income quintiles, but the amount of that decline varied by quintile. The declines in before-tax income were 5 percent or less for households in each of the four lowest income quintiles and 18 percent for households in the top quintile. For households in the top one percent, income fell by 36 percent, reducing their share of before-tax income from 18.7 percent to 13.4 percent.
Not only did the top quintile of households see their income fall the most, but the top 1% of households saw the largest drop of pre-tax income; seeing their income drop an astounding 36%.
The report later went on to show the highest quintile of households, as expected, pay a larger portion of federal taxes, as it relates to income. The top quintile of households paid 67.9% of the federal taxes, despite only have 50.8% of the before tax income. Of course, this is to be expected due to the United States’ progressive income tax code, which forces higher income earners to pay higher rates.