IRS Publishes 1991 Tax Statistics

WASHINGTON - The Spring 1993 issue of the quarterly "Statistics of Income Bulletin", available now, reports preliminary 1991 data showing that individual adjusted gross income, nearly $3.5 trillion, increased only 1.2 percent over 1990, as reported on the 114.9 million individual income tax returns filed.

The lead article also shows taxable unemployment compensation by 50 percent, taxable interest down for the first time since 1987, and net capital gains (less losses) dropped by 12.2 percent. Inflation indexing of the earned income credit, the tax bracket boundaries, and the exemption and standard deduction amounts contributed to the $3.2 billion decline in total income tax to $448.2 billion, the first decline in the tax since 1983.

Another article presents summary data on high-income tax returns for 1977 to 1989, with detailed data for 1989, when there were 786,063 returns reporting adjusted gross income of $200,000 or more. Approximately 3.4 million people, less than 2 percent of the nation's adult population, held gross assets of $600,000 or more in 1989. The net worth of these individuals was $4.8 trillion and accounted for 25 to 30 percent of the personal wealth in the United States.

An article on estate tax returns reports that in 1991 there were 53,576 estate tax returns filed for U.S. decedents with a gross estate at or above the $600,000 filing threshold. These decedents had a combined total gross estate of $90.9 billion, almost 94 percent more than their counterparts 10 years earlier.

This issue also presents data on marginal tax rates and tax shares by income percentiles, as well as personal income and tax by state for 1991.

The "Statistics of Income Bulletin" is available form the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA. The annual subscription rate is $23 for four issues; single issues cost $6.50.

For other statistical information, write to the Director, Statistics of Income Division, R:S, Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 2608, Washington, DC 20013-2608, dial its electronic bulletin board at (202) 874-9574, or telephone its statistical information services office at (202) 874-0410.

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