Some of world’s wealthiest pay next to no income tax, ProPublica finds
The richest 25 Americans pay less in tax than many ordinary workers do, once you include taxes for Social Security and Medicare, ProPublica found.
City’s gap between rich, poor is 10th highest
Baltimore has the 10th highest income inequality among the nation’s 50 largest cities, according to a study released Thursday by the Brookings Institution, the Washington-based think tank.
Editorial: An exodus of income?
With Forbes’ recent release of the richest 400 Americans list, it’s a good time to take a look at whether Maryland’s tax policies are, as conservatives often claim, repellants for wealthy people.
Poverty rate remains stuck at 15 percent
WASHINGTON — The nation’s poverty rate stood still at 15 percent last year, the sixth straight year that it has failed to improve. The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that 46.5 million Americans — or more than 1 in 7 — were living in poverty last year. That is not statistically different from the number of […]
Richest 1 percent earn biggest share since ’20s
WASHINGTON — The gulf between the richest 1 percent and the rest of America is the widest it’s been since the Roaring ’20s. The very wealthiest Americans earned more than 19 percent of the country’s household income last year — their biggest share since 1928, the year before the stock market crash. And the top […]
Most Americans say the rich don’t pay enough taxes
WASHINGTON — As the income gap between rich and poor widens, a majority of Americans say the growing divide is bad for the country and believe that wealthy people are paying too little in taxes, according to a new survey. The poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center points to a particular challenge for […]
White House: No extended tax cuts for rich, period
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — The White House is insisting President Barack Obama will not extend the Bush-era tax cuts for wealthier Americans — even temporarily. Obama spokesman Jay Carney said the president has been clear in his opposition to extending tax cuts for households with annual incomes above $250,000. Tax cuts for people of […]
Report: Just $31B from Buffett rule tax on rich
WASHINGTON — A bill designed to enact President Barack Obama’s plan for a “Buffett rule” tax on the wealthy would rake in just $31 billion over the next 11 years, according to an estimate by Congress’ official tax analysts obtained by The Associated Press. That figure would be a drop in the bucket of the […]
Conflict between rich, poor strongest in 24 years
WASHINGTON — Tensions between the rich and poor are increasing and at their most intense level in nearly a quarter-century, a new survey shows. Americans now see more social conflict over wealth inequality than over the hot-button topics of immigration, race relations and age. The survey released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center highlights U.S. […]
Study: Rich get a lot richer, outpace middle class
WASHINGTON — The richest 1 percent of Americans have been getting far richer over the last three decades while the middle class and poor have seen their after-tax household income only crawl up in comparison, according to a government study. After-tax income for the top 1 percent of U.S. households almost tripled, up 275 percent, […]
Rich-county, poor-county gap widens in Md.
Maryland was one of three states to show increasing inequality in income distribution between 2008 and 2009, although the gap between rich and poor areas stayed the same nationally, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. Howard County had the state’s highest median household income at $101,940 in 2009, while Allegany County came in last at $36,491 […]
Billionaire testifies in child support lawsuit
LOS ANGELES — Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Bren testified Thursday in the child support case brought by his two adult children, saying he was shocked when his then-lover told him decades ago that she was pregnant with their first child. Bren, one of the nation’s richest men, has an estimated net worth of $12 […]