An Undertaxed America?

From today's Investor's Business Daily:

1. U.S. corporate taxes are the second highest among industrialized nations. As a percentage of GDP, corporate income taxes rose from 1.2% in 2003 to 2.3% in 2005, the highest level in 25 years.

2. About 14 million Americans at lower incomes have been removed from the federal income tax rolls since 2000 because of the earned income tax credit and the per-child tax credit.

3. The rising tax burden (see graph above) is borne disproportionately by those who are successful. The top 50% of Americans pays almost 97% of income taxes. And most of that — 54% — is paid by the top 5%, and the top 1% pay more than 34% of all personal income taxes collected.

4. The CBO found that the after-tax income of those "superrich" actually declined after the 2003 tax cuts — by 8.3% from 2000 to 2004.