Who are the '47 percent'?

Half don't earn enough to pay federal income taxes; many pay other ways.

Is paying no income tax the same thing as paying no federal taxes?

No. Many zero-liability households still ante up for payroll taxes that fund Medicare and Social Security, among other things. According to an analysis from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), even the lowest quintile of US income earners pay about 9 percent of their income to Uncle Sam in payroll tax.

"When all federal, state, and local taxes are taken into account, the bottom fifth of households pays about 16 percent of their incomes in taxes, on average," according to the CBPP.

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