‘Pay Your Fair Share’ Taxation Isn’t About Actual Fairness

President Joe Biden this week attempted to inject life into his ailing presidency by dragging out of the closet the hoariest of political cliches: “fairness” in taxation.

Touting his new $3.5 trillion tax-and-spending bill, which would radically increase corporate taxes, personal income taxes, and so-called sin taxes, Biden stated, “It’s not enough just to build back. We have to build back better than before … . I’m not out to punish anyone. I’m a capitalist. If you can make a million or a billion dollars, that’s great. God bless you. All I’m asking is you pay your fair share. Pay your fair share, just like middle-class folks do.”

Of course, those who earn high incomes don’t pay like middle-class folks do. They pay far, far more. IRS statistics show that the top 1% of income earners pay more in federal income tax than the bottom 90% combined. While the top 1% earned 21% of all income in 2018, they paid 40% of all income-tax revenue. The top 10% paid more than 70% of all federal income tax.