This fact may not sit well: Americans are under-taxed

Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: May 05, 2011 09:40:18 PM

WASHINGTON — Here's a dirty little secret that most Americans don't want to hear: We're under-taxed.

That may sound like heresy; nobody wants to pay more taxes. But by historical standards, what we pay in federal taxes — rich, poor and everyone in between — has gone down.

At a time when Washington is wrestling with how to end federal budget deficits and trim the national debt — huge questions that are expected to dominate the nation's politics through the 2012 elections — the fact that Americans are under-taxed compared with U.S. historic norms is central to the discussion.