[jmherbener]

The top 5 percent of Americans earned 22.1 percent of total income in 2013 according to the census bureau:

http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/demo/p60-249.pdf

The federal government taxes were $2.8 trillion and income taxes $1.6 trillion.

http://www.usgovernmentrevenue.com/fed_revenue_2013USrn

Personal income of Americans in 2013 was around $14 trillion.

http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=9&step=1#reqid=9&step=3&isuri=1&903=58

So, in 2013 Federal taxes as a percent of personal income was around 20 percent and federal income taxes as a percent of personal income was around 11.4 percent. If the federal government confiscated all of the income of the top five percent, it would just more than cover its entire tax revenue. Of course, it could only do this once.

Here are federal taxes paid by each income quintile:

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/44604

We have a large debt because federal spending in out of control. The top five percent do not earn enough income to make a dent in paying off the debt as long as federal government expenditures are not reduced.