Conservatives LOVE to point out that 47 percent of the American people pay no federal income tax, and that it should be required that everyone contribute, before we raise taxes on the extremely wealthy and the corporations!
The fact is that the reason that so many Americans do NOT pay federal income tax is because their earned income is so low, or because of various deductions that are available to everyone in theory. And the wealthy get a lot more benefit out of using these tax deductions!
The fact that corporations and the wealthy pay very low taxes as compared to their income does not bother conservatives, but damn it, those poor people or single mothers MUST pay their fair share, which would, at the most, be maybe under $25 per year if a minimum was required.
That is NOT going to resolve the issue of collection of enough taxation to deal with federal budget demands!
And, of course, those who do not pay federal income tax because of low income, still pay the payroll tax on Social Security and Medicare, which can be quite a burden on a low income, while for Social Security, if one earns more than $106,800, they pay NO additional Social Security tax!
Additionally, all taxpayers pay state and local sales taxes and property taxes if they own their home, and this can be quite a burden on low income earners!
So the argument about federal tax collection is a FALSE argument, and conservatives should be criticized for their lack of honesty about the matter!