General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Maximum wage [View all]Wounded Bear
(64,314 posts)Reset and understand the concept of marginal tax rates, and rates in general.
Everybody pays the same rate on their income in each bracket. The 10% number you're quoting would be 10% of income earned above $5 mill. All income up to $5 mill would be taxed at the same rates as everybody else. That's why progressive rates are constitutional. Everybody pays the same rates on the levels that they earn at. Not sure where that number would be now, but I suspect it would be in the $25-50 mill range equivalent.
IMO we should re-insitute additional brackets that were eliminated during the Reagan years, adjusted for inflation, of course.
Now, in fairness, the 50's rates were based on paying back the debts incurred from the Great Depression and WWII. Kennedy did the first round of cutting those because much of that debt had been retired by then. We could use a round of high tax rates right now to cover the Great Recession and the War on Terror debt. Even with that, it wouldn't be close to 90% though.
Hell, Clinton raised the top rate by 3% and had deficit spending under control at the end of his term. Bush repealed them and we've had deficits ever since. The Repub answer is to cut taxes more. Forgive me if I don't think that would work.