"Take a $10,000 early withdrawal from a retirement plan, and you could easily lose 40 percent to taxes and penalties, depending upon your tax bracket and where you live.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/PersonalFinance/story?id=6941661&page=1
“For some people, including taxes, it would reach 40%.”
Were talking about money in an IRA that hasn’t been taxed. Of course you have to pay the tax, you can’t describe that as a penalty for taking it out early.
The penalty is 10%.