Folks, read my article.
Read what I actually wrote, and see how it was presented in context.
Its on the Internet, with the chart, free — as are many other articles by me on IRS, Census, Tax Policy Center and other sources of income data.
The Tax Policy Center’s data, which I rely on often, is superb and Treasury has gone out of its way to praise its reliability. But it measures income differently than tax return data, which is based on statements signed under penalty of perjury. That is why it is important to report on the many different ways income is measured.
All data sources have limitations and in my articles I explain those, as people who read my work regularly know.
Actual readers are capable of applying their own experience and knowledge to the specific set of facts in any article.
Income data at the top, as I have shown in other articles, also leaves out a lot of income.
So those posters who think the limitations of income among those at the bottom are misleading should be aware that the only area where we have highly accurate data is wages, dividends and interest income. The IRS says 99% of wage income is reported, compared to as little as 70% of other forms of income where no independent verification is required.
