Canadians (yes, I am one of them) are sometimes led to believe that the Canadidan tax system is much more redistributive than in the U.S. I am not sure whether this is true or not, but I came across this article today that made me reflect on this:
Nearly Half of U.S. Households Escape Fed Tax.
Some interesting tidbits:
[1] About 47% of Americans will pay no federal income tax in 2009
[2] The top 10% of earners pay about 73% of all income tax collected by the federal government
[3] The bottom 40% of earners will (on average) pay negative taxes (are net recipients of transfer income)