So damn sexy . You look great <| sep |> Upperincome earners pay the majority of income taxes , which by design , they should , and the federal income tax constitutes a little less than 50 % of federal inlays . Payroll taxes constitute about onethird of federal inlays , and given that there is a ceiling to the Social Security portion of FICA . Since the percentage of individuals who earn greater than about $ 120 , 000 is by percentage somewhat small , that means that the working and middle classes nearly completely bankroll that revenue source . But , so far we ' ve just mentioned federal taxation . States that rely on an increased sales or property tax benefit the rich at the expense of the poor . Consider two such states , Florida and Washington . In Washington , the total state and local taxes as a share of family income in the bottom quintile is 16 . 8 %. Contrast to a high tax state where the number for the same group is 10 . 8 %. If you compared to same groups in Florida and New York , another high tax states , the same groups pay 12 . 9 % to 10 . 4 %. And , for clarity ' s sake , the upper 1 % in Washington pays 2 . 4 %, in Massachusetts , 4 . 9 %, in Florida , 1 . 9 %, in New York 8 . 1 %. So , only in one revenue stream do the rich , by design of the model , pay disproportionately more . They do not with respect to Social Security , and they do not at the state and local level . In totality , the United States tax system isn ' t that progressive , and often regressive in some states .