81.9 percent of Americans pay FEDERAL taxes (meaning, Social Security, Medicare, etc.), not "income" tax. The reason the 47% do not owe further taxes on their income is because they owe none after deductions and exemptions and/or get Earned Income Credit, or simply earn too little to owe taxes.
Yes,
it’s true that 46.4 percent of American households paid no federal income taxes in 2011, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, but that doesn’t mean they are all deadbeats living off the system – a favorite talking point among Republican conservatives.
Of that group, 28.3 percent are working Americans who contribute payroll taxes to help fund Social Security and Medicare, meaning 81.9 percent of Americans paid federal taxes of some sort in 2011 – and that doesn’t necessarily include those who paid federal excise taxes on gasoline, telephones and other items.
It’s also true that many of the tax cuts advocated by Republicans over the years – including those enacted under Ronald Reagan in 1986 and George W. Bush in 2001 and 2003 – have contributed to fewer working Americans paying income taxes, which makes Romney’s broadside on the “47 percent” even more disingenuous.
Lastly, he’s wrong on the politics, too. In 2010, eight of the 10 states with the highest percentage of households with no income tax liability were solid “red” states, starting with Mississippi (44.5 percent), Georgia (42.5 percent) and Alabama (40.3 percent). In case you were wondering, New Hampshire ranked 48th at 26.3 percent.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/mobile/mnews/975817-264/romneys-47-percent-remarks-beyond-the-pale.html
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