Some 39 percent of American taxpayers will not get the full amount of the highly-touted "rebate checks" that will be mailed this summer as a result of the President's just-passed tax bill. That translates into 51 million taxpayers who will not get the full amount of the promised rebate checks. According to a new analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice:

• Thirty-four million taxpayers--26 percent-- will get no rebate check at all
• Another 17 million taxpayers--13 percent--will get only partial rebates, averaging about half the advertised amounts of $600 for couples, $500 for single parents and $300 for other taxpayers.

The Check is Not in the Mail: Taxpayers with no rebate or only partial rebate this year from the 2001 tax bill
	All Taxpayers
Income Group (all taxpayers)	% with no rebate	% with partial rebate	Total % less than full	Average all taxpayers	# with less than full (000)
Lowest 20%	75%	22%	97%	$ 42	25,175
Second 20%	37%	22%	59%	179	15,324
Middle 20%	13%	17%	30%	335	7,724
Fourth 20%	2%	4%	6%	482	1,681
Next 15%	1%	—	1%	551	190
Next 4%	1%	—	1%	560	52
Top 1%	1%	—	1%	555	13
ALL	26%	13%	39%	$ 315	51,082
ADDENDUM
Bottom 60%	42%	20%	62%	$ 185	48,224
Top 10%	1%	—	1%	559	130

The taxpayers who get no or reduced benefits from the tax bill are concentrated in the bottom three-fifths of income earners. Sixty-two percent of the three-fifths of all taxpayers who make less than $44,000 a year will get less than the full rebate amounts, with 42 percent of these taxpayers getting nothing at all.

The tax rebates are supposed to reflect the tax savings from the new 10 percent income-tax bracket on the first $12,000 in taxable income for couples, $10,000 for single parents, and $6,000 for others. Payroll taxes, which are the largest federal tax for three out of four taxpayers, are not counted in computing the rebates.

Oddly, although most taxpayers in the bottom 60 percent of the income scale will get reduced or zero rebates, the tax bill extends the benefits of the rebate to about two million upper-income taxpayers who will not actually benefit from the new 10 percent rate bracket, due to the Alternative Minimum Tax.

"Like the rest of the Bush tax plan, the rebates have been carefully designed to give as little as possible to those who need the money, and as much as possible to those who don't," said Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice.

On a state-by-state basis, the percentage of taxpayers with no or reduced rebates exceeds 50 percent in Mississippi (52%) and West Virginia (50.5%). Other states among the ten with the highest percentages of taxpayers with no or reduced rebates include: Louisiana (49%), Montana (49%), Arkansas (48%), Oklahoma (48%), Alabama (47%), Kentucky (45%), New Mexico (45%) and North Dakota (44%)

Tables, including state-by-state information, follow.

The “$600/$500/300” Tax Rebates
			Married couples (max $600)				Single parents (max $500)				Others (max $300)
Income Group (all taxpayers)	Income Range	Average Income	% w/ no rebate	% with $1-599	Ave w/ $1-599	Ave all	% w/ no rebate	% with $1-499	Ave w/ $1-499	Ave all	% w/ no rebate	% with $1-299	Ave w/ $1-299	Ave all
Lowest 20%	Less than $15,000	$ 9,300	98%	2%	$ 37	$ 1	95%	5%	$ 88	$ 4	65%	30%	$ 152	$ 60
Second 20%	$15,000–27,000	20,600	70%	29%	269	84	48%	40%	259	162	19%	12%	145	225
Middle 20%	$27,000–44,000	34,400	26%	30%	303	356	11%	17%	314	412	3%	5%	184	284
Fourth 20%	$44,000–72,000	56,400	3%	6%	356	569	2%	3%	364	488	1%	1%	110	294
Next 15%	$72,000–147,000	97,400	1%	—	na	596	1%	—	na	496	1%	—	na	297
Next 4%	$147,000–373,000	210,000	1%	—	na	592	1%	—	na	496	1%	—	na	297
Top 1%	$373,000 or more	1,117,000	1%	—	na	594	1%	—	na	495	1%	—	na	297
ALL		$ 57,800	18%	10%	$ 300	$ 459	44%	17%	$ 262	$ 239	28%	14%	$ 152	195
ADDENDUM
Bottom 60%	Less than $44,000	$ 21,400	51%	25%	288	213	54%	21%	259	183	33%	17%	152	174
Top 10%	$104,000 or more	256,000	1%	—	na	594	1%	—	na	495	1%	—	na	297
Source: Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Tax Model. Citizens for Tax Justice, May 31, 2001

Detailed State-by-State Tables:
Taxpayers with no rebate or partial rebate in each state
Taxpayers making less than $40,000 with no rebate or partial rebate in each state

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