Lets see what the taxes are for this fictional family of 3 who are grossing 100K and are responsible (i.e. are renters and invest fully in 401K)
100K – 15K (401K) – 2k (medical) – 11k (standard deduction) – 10K (exemptions for 3 people) = 62K of AGI. For 2008 taxes, this means that the federal taxes are $8500. Add $5000 for state taxes and $7650 for social security & medicare and subtract $1000 for child tax credit, then the total taxes add up to $20150.
If my calculations are correct, I would say enron_by_the_sea is correct in the sense that the taxes are overestimated.