IRS: 1,470 millionaires paid no income tax

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The Internal Revenue Service says 1,470 of 235,000 U.S. millionaires paid no income tax in 2009.

The IRS said millionaires comprised less than 1 percent of the 140 million tax returns filed in 2009 and that 8,274 U.S. citizens claimed incomes of $10 million or more.

The tax rate for those earning $1 million or more is 24.4 percent, up from 23.1 percent in 2008 but less than the 28.5 percent rate they paid in 2002, Politico reported Friday.

The IRS said the numbers are based on 2008 incomes, during the worst of the recession, meaning incomes for that year were considerably lower than normal.

The agency said the majority of Americans -- 97 percent -- reported incomes of less than $200,000. The average income reported in 2009 was $54,283, a drop of 6 percent, or more than $3,500 over 2008, the lowest level since 1997.

The average tax rate declined from 12.5 percent in 2008 to 11.4 percent in 2009, the report said.

The IRS said the amount of unemployment benefits claimed on tax returns nearly doubled from 2008 to 2009.