Data reflects recession's impact on income, taxes.

• Author: Ladd, Scott
• Position: INCOME TAX - Brief article

Income levels and the amount paid in taxes overall by the wealthiest Americans dropped markedly in recessionary 2008 from the previous year, according to a review of federal data by the nonprofit Tax Foundation.

Incomes shrank by larger percentages at the top of the earning spectrum, where many sources of business income tended to disappear.

The top-earning 1 percent of tax filers were identified by the Internal Revenue Service as those who earned slightly more than $380,000.

In 2008, their share of all income was 20 percent, down from 22.8 percent in 2007. And their percentage of total income taxes paid was also reduced.

The top earners paid 38 percent of all income taxes collected in 2008, down from 40.4 percent in the previous year, according to the data.

The findings are derived from Fiscal Fact No. 249, Summary of Latest Federal Individual...