The Congressional Budget Office released new data yesterday on the burden of federal taxes. The data answers the question: What share of earnings do households at different income levels pay in federal taxes?

The CBO data is useful because it not only includes individual income taxes, but also corporate income taxes, payroll taxes, and excise taxes. Those four taxes account for virtually all federal revenues. The data is for 2005 and is based on a definition of “income” that is broader than AGI reported on income tax returns.

The chart shows that households with higher incomes pay a much larger share of their income in federal taxes, on average, than do households with middle and lower incomes. Clearly, there are gross inequities in federal taxation. But few people will find out because none of the major newspapers reported on the CBO data, as far as I could tell.