NJ5 said:
Not the way progressive taxes usually work in Europe (at least in Scandinavia which is where I've been working at). The high-income tax only applies to the portion of income above the high-income threshold. The tax percentages actually get lower and lower as you go up in the brackets (in Sweden the high-income tax is just 5% applied on income above this threshold). If my thinking is correct, this implies the exact opposite of what you said. Making the rich richer by X only makes the state richer by 0.05*X, a small amount compared to an increase in middle-income salaries (0.3*X or something like that).
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This is not how it works in the US to my knowledge. I may be wrong but i beleive it takes it out of your entire paycheck. Which is why you can make money by donating to charity in the US. Because it takes you down to a lower tax bracket by the amount you donate to charity. Thereby saving you the extra money.
regardless i think your thinking is skewed somewhere. Since while that extra 5% is applied on the income. So is the original 30%.
Exapmle, someone making 100 and someone making 50. tax rat 10% at below 80. 20% at above 80.
Someone making 50 pays 10%. Someone making 100 pays 10% on the 80. Then 20% on the remaining 20 so they pay 8+4= 12 +5
Total tax revenue: 17.
Now say the middle class guy makes 60. while the rich guy makes 90.
So thats 6 from the middle class guy. 8 from the rich guy + 2 for his over 80 percents.
Total Tax revenue hee: 16.
The closer we get to being even... the less tax revenue the government receives. Therefore the government has two options when it needs more money.
1. Raise taxes... piss off constitutiants and risk their jobs.
2. Pass legislation that makes it easier for the rich to get richer.
If you can take money away from the poor even better! They don't even pay taxes below the poverty line, it moves up the "company margin" even more.
