House of Paine

corporate ownership round up and sum up

 concentration of productive wealth

a law of capitalistic motion
tax policy can be a head wind
                      or a ....tail wind 



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New government data 
indicate that the concentration of corporate wealth
 among the highest-income Americans 
grew significantly in 2003,
 as a trend that began in 1991 accelerated 
in the first year that President Bush 
and Congress cut taxes on capital.

In 2003 the top 1 percent of households 
owned 57.5 percent of corporate wealth,
 up from 53.4 percent the year before,
 according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis 
of the latest income tax data. 
The top group's share of corporate wealth 
has grown by half since 1991, 
when it was 38.7 percent. 

In 2003, incomes in the top 1 percent of households 
ranged from $237,000 to several billion dollars. 

For every group below the top 1 percent,
 shares of corporate wealth
 have declined since 1991. 

These declines ranged from 12.7 percent
 for those on the 96th to 99th rungs
 on the income ladder 
to 57 percent 
for the poorest fifth of Americans,
 who made less than $16,300
 and together owned 0.6 percent 
of corporate wealth in 2003,
 down from 1.4 percent in 1991.

The analysis did not measure wealth directly.
 It looked at taxes on capital gains, dividends,
 interest and rents.

 Income from securities owned by retirement plans 
and endowments was excluded,
 as were gains from noncorporate assets 
such as personal residences.

This technique for measuring wealth
 has long been used in standard economic studies, though critics have challenged that tradition.

. 

Long-term capital gains were taxed 
at 28 percent until 1997,
 and at 20 percent until 2003, 
when rates were cut to 15 percent.

 The top rate on dividends was cut to 15 percent
 from 35 percent that year. 

The White House said it did not believe 
that the 2003 tax cuts 
had much influence on wealth shares.