If you've been on Facebook, Twitter or just about any news website, you've probably heard something about a controversial video of presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
The secretly taped video shows Romney telling a group of supporters that nearly half of President Obama's voters are dependent on the government and do not pay income tax.
WATCH: Mitt Romney Stands By Message In Secret Video
All politics aside, News 2 has learned it is true that nearly half of the country does not pay federal income taxes. The exact number is 46.4 percent, according to the Tax Policy Center.
If you stop there, the numbers are a bit misleading because nearly two-thirds of households that do not pay income tax do pay payroll taxes. In other words, those individuals have jobs, but they do not make enough money to end up owing federal income taxes.
There is a smaller group of people who do not pay federal income or payroll taxes: about 18 percent of the country. Who's in this category? More than half are elderly. More than one third earn less than $20,000. The rest falls into an "other" category.
WFMY News 2