WaPo Declares 'Historic Low' in Tax Burden, But Leaves Out More Than Half the Burden

The Washington Post carried this headline in a text box at the top of Page One: "Tax Burden Near Historic Low: The average family sent about 9 percent of its income to the IRS, with the middle-class faring especially well, according to federal data. A12." (The D.C. tea party was noted at the bottom of the page, and readers were sent to B-1, the front of Metro.) But how do the Post’s "tax burden" claims stand up?

Inside the paper, there’s a chart, and the source is the "nonpartisan" Congressional Budget Office, now controlled by the Democratic majority. It measured only the "Effective individual income tax rate."

The Post is measuring less than half the federal "tax burden".

Here’s what the CBO director’s blog on the study reported: ...

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