FACT CHECK #0GNAY0KP

WHAT WE FOUND

The provided sources do not contain data confirming that Black Americans pay exactly 6% of all taxes in the United States. The specific figure 6 percent appears in Source 8, but it refers to the percentage of tax units in the top income quintile that are Black, rather than the total share of all taxes paid by the entire Black population 8. While data regarding federal income taxes by race is tracked by agencies like the St. Louis Fed and Social Security Administration, the excerpts provided do not list an aggregate percentage for total federal, state, and local tax contributions 2 6. The federal income tax system is designed to be race-blind, applying the same rules to any units with identical income and deductions 4. However, significant income disparities persist, as White and Asian households typically report higher average incomes than Black and Hispanic households 9. Furthermore, different groups benefit disproportionately from various tax expenditures; for example, the Treasury Department notes that Hispanic families benefit disproportionately from the Premium Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit 1. Without a comprehensive aggregate of all tax types (income, payroll, sales, and local), the 6% claim cannot be verified and appears to conflate a demographic share of the top income bracket with total tax liability 8 9.

SOURCES

1. 1 · home.treasury.govACADEMIC
   Disparities in the Benefits of Tax Expenditures by Race and Ethnicity | U.S. Department of the Treasury

   TIER A

2. 2 · ssa.govACADEMIC
   Projected Profile of Taxpayers

   TIER A

3. 3 · journalistsresource.orgACADEMIC
   How racial and ethnic biases are baked into the U.S. tax system

   TIER A

4. 4 · brookings.eduACADEMIC
   The same but different | Brookings

   TIER A

5. 5 · link.springer.comACADEMIC
   Does the US individual income tax display systemic racism? Negative evidence from audited US federal tax return data for 1967–73 | Public Choice | Springer Nature Link

   TIER A

6. 6 · fred.stlouisfed.orgWEB
   Personal Taxes: Federal Income Taxes by Race: Black or African American (CXUFEDTAXESLB0905M) | FRED | St. Louis Fed

   TIER B

7. 7 · itep.orgWEB
   ITEP’s Approach to Modeling Taxes by Race and Ethnicity

   TIER B

8. 8 · taxpolicycenter.orgWEB
   a-guide-to-understanding-racial-disparities-in-the-federal- ...

   TIER B

9. 9 · apps.urban.orgWEB
   Racial Disparities and the Income Tax System

   TIER B

THE READING