Name: 誰在美國交的稅最低？
Uploaded: 2020-08-07T18:15:23.000Z
Duration: 5 min 51 s

形容詞最高級

This person on the left — she represents the poorest 10 percent of Americans.

左邊這個人--她代表了最貧窮的10%的美國人。

And on the right — he is the very richest 10 percent.

而在右邊--他是最富有的10%的人。

祈使句型

So let's ask this group a simple question:

那麼，我們來問這組人一個簡單的問題。

What percentage of your income gets taxed?

你的收入有多大比例需要繳稅？

Most Americans pay multiple income taxes … to the federal government, and state governments,

大多數美國人都要繳納多種所得稅......向聯邦政府、州政府繳納。

But a recent analysis by two economists added up all the income taxes.

但最近兩位經濟學家的分析將所有的所得稅加起來。

And when you do that, the data shows that poor people pay a very small part of their

當你這樣做的時候，數據顯示，窮人支付了他們的很小一部分。

This concept, of taxing the poor at a lower rate — and taxing the rich more… this

這個概念，以較低的稅率向窮人徵稅，而向富人徵收更多的稅... ...

大多數國家的稅收都是這樣的。

But it's also why some critics question whether these people…

但這也是為什麼有評論家質疑這些人是否...

… are getting away without paying their fair share:

......沒有支付他們應得的份額而逍遙法外。

"The middle class and the poor that pay, if anything, a lot less."

"中產階級和窮人，付出的代價，如果有的話，會少很多。"

"Why is it that 45 percent of the population of this country is not contributing back to the rest?"

"為什麼這個國家45%的人口沒有回饋給其他國家的人？"

But now let's add one more guy to this group of 10:

但現在讓我們在這10個人中再加一個人。

This guy — he represents the 400 richest Americans.

這個人--他代表了美國最富有的400人。

Billionaires don't make most of their money through typical income.

億萬富翁們的大部分錢並不是通過典型的收入賺來的。

So their income actually gets taxed at lower rates than these less rich people.

所以，他們的收入實際上比這些不太富裕的人的稅率要低。

Now, you might be thinking, don't billionaires pay taxes in other ways?

現在，你可能會想，億萬富翁難道不以其他方式交稅嗎？

This is just the income tax, and there are lots of other kinds of taxes in America.

這只是所得稅，在美國還有很多其他種類的稅。

And this analysis, where this data came from?

而這個分析，這個數據是怎麼來的？

And it shows that, when we add them all up...

這說明，當我們把它們加起來... ...

There actually is someone in this group who might not be paying their fair share.

其實在這個群體中，有人可能並沒有付出應有的代價。

Let's go back to our first chart, with these 11 people.

讓我們回到第一張圖，這11個人。

What happens when we add in all the other taxes?

如果我們加上所有其他的稅種，會發生什麼？

Well, let's look at another kind of tax: Corporate and property taxes.

好吧，讓我們看看另一種稅。公司稅和財產稅

These are the taxes we pay on the things we own:

這些都是我們對自己的東西所交的稅。

以及我們在他們身上賺的錢... ...

通常情況下，有錢人擁有的東西比較多。

So these corporate and property taxes hit them the hardest.

所以這些企業稅和房產稅對他們的打擊是最大的。

Rich people also tend to be from rich families.

有錢人也往往是來自富人家庭。

And when they inherit a lot of money, the government taxes them.

而當他們繼承了很多錢的時候，政府就會向他們徵稅。

Put these taxes together, and it's clear that they place a much heavier burden on the

把這些稅種放在一起，很明顯，它們給人們帶來了更重的負擔。

and it looks like the rich really do pay way more than the poor.

而且看起來富人真的比窮人付出的多。

Look closely, and you'll see something called a Medicare tax and a Social Security tax.

仔細觀察，你會發現有一種東西叫醫療保險稅和社會保障稅。

Anyway, combined, these are called payroll taxes.

總之，這些合起來就叫工資稅。

Medicare and Social Security are two really important programs: they provide health care

醫療保險和社會保障是兩個非常重要的計劃：它們提供醫療服務。

and a modest income for when we get old and retire.

和適度的收入，當我們老了，退休了。

Which is why we have these payroll taxes -- separate from the income tax --

這就是為什麼我們有這些工資稅... 與所得稅分開的原因。

So on your paycheck, you'll notice that you're taxed 7.65 percent in payroll taxes.

所以在你的工資單上，你會發現你的工資稅要交7.65%。

And your company is supposed to pay another 7.65 percent on your behalf.

而你的公司應該再替你支付7.65%。

But economists have found that, in practice, the way companies pay their part of the payroll tax...

但經濟學家發現，在實踐中，企業繳納部分工資稅的方式...

So in reality, many workers pay nearly the full 15.3 percent toward this tax.

所以，在現實中，很多工人幾乎全額繳納了15.3%的這個稅。

And everyone is on the hook for the same percentage.

而且每個人都要承擔同樣的比例。

Once someone earns more than about $130,000 a year … the money they make beyond that

一旦有人年收入超過13萬左右......他們賺到的錢就超過了這個數字。

isn't subject to the Social Security tax.

That means the rich pay a really small portion of their income toward payroll taxes.

這意味著富人將收入中的一小部分支付給工資稅。

And poor people and the middle class pay way more.

而窮人和中產階級付出的代價更大。

Add payroll taxes onto the chart, and it starts to flatten out.

把工資稅加到圖上，就開始變平了。

The last type of taxes we're going to look at are the taxes we pay when we buy stuff.

最後一種我們要看的稅是我們買東西時要交的稅。

For example, let's say you're looking to buy a t-shirt.

When you check out, you pay a sales tax, which is a percentage of its cost.

當你結賬的時候，你要支付銷售稅，也就是其成本的一定比例。

Furniture. Toilet paper. Laundry detergent.

For some items, like beer and gasoline, there are additional taxes that get incorporated

對於一些商品，如啤酒和汽油，還有一些額外的稅，會被併入其中

into the price tag ... before you even get to the store.

進入價格標籤......在你到達商店之前。

And we all pay the same rate on the things we buy, regardless of how rich we are.

而且我們買東西的價格都是一樣的，不管我們多有錢。

You might think that, since rich people usually buy more things — and more expensive things…

你可能會認為，既然有錢人通常會買更多的東西--更貴的東西......。

they pay a larger percentage of their income toward these taxes.

他們將收入的較大比例用於支付這些稅款。

But, relative to how much money they have, the stuff they buy, and the taxes they

但是，相對於他們有多少錢，他們買的東西，以及他們的稅款

pay on that stuff, take up a relatively small portion of their income.

在這些東西上的支付，佔了他們收入的比較小的一部分。

Meanwhile, everyone, even people with almost no money,

同時，每個人，甚至是幾乎沒有錢的人。

needs to buy certain basic things to survive.

需要購買一些基本的東西來生存。

And for poor people, those basic things and the taxes that come with them

而對於窮人來說，這些基本的東西和隨之而來的稅款。

讓他們幾乎花光了所有的收入。

So if we chart how much of their income each of these people pays in consumption taxes...

所以，如果我們把這些人的收入中，每個人要交多少消費稅畫成圖表... ...

… we can see that poor people pay a much larger portion.

......我們可以看到，窮人付出的代價要大得多。

突然間，我們看到了一個巨大的變化。

The chart shows us that this line, from before, is a lie.

這張圖告訴我們，之前的這條線，是個謊言。

That America's tax system as a whole, isn't very progressive.

美國的稅收制度作為一個整體，是不是很累進。

Poor people pay about the same portion of their income in taxes as rich people.

窮人和富人繳納的稅款佔其收入的比例差不多。

And this guy — this billionaire — is paying a smaller portion than everyone else.

而這個人--這個億萬富翁--所付的錢比其他人都少。

If you look at just certain types of taxes,

it's natural to assume that rich people pay a bigger tax burden in the US,

自然而然地認為，在美國，有錢人的稅負更大。

and that poor people aren't exactly paying their fair share.

而窮人並沒有完全支付他們的公平份額。

But a more complete look at the bigger picture, challenges that.

And it suggests that, if we're looking for a group that isn't paying their fair share,

而這表明，如果我們要找一個沒有支付公平份額的群體。