Recently the Census Bureau released the latest data on income distribution in the United States, and the Internal Revenue Service released new data on taxes paid by the wealthy. According to the Census Bureau, the rich have gotten richer faster during the Clinton Administration than at any other time in history.

• In 1992, the share of total income going to the top 5 percent of households by income -- before taxes -- was 18.6 percent.

• By 1997, this figure jumped to 21.7 percent.

• This represents a much larger increase in just five years than occurred during all eight years of the Reagan Administration (see figure).

There is a benefit to this trend and that is the increasing share of total income tax revenues that is paid by the wealthy.

• In 1980, the top 5 percent of taxpayers paid 36.8 percent of all federal income taxes, in 1988 they paid 45.5 percent.

• In 1992, the top 5 percent of taxpayers paid 46 percent of all federal income taxes; but in 1996, the latest year available, this same group paid 51 percent of all income taxes.

• If their share of federal income taxes had remained unchanged from 1992 on, the top 5 percent of taxpayers would have paid $32 billion less in taxes in 1996 than they did.

The wealthy also increased the percentage of their income paid in taxes. In 1992, the top 5 percent of taxpayers had an effective tax rate of 21.15 percent (taxes as a share of income). By 1996, this figure had increased to 23.88 percent. If this group had continued to pay taxes in 1996 at their 1992 tax rate, they would have paid $38 billion less taxes than they did.

Source: Bruce Bartlett, senior fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis, October 12, 1998.