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When it comes to taxes, I keep hearing that the rich ought to pay their "fair share".

What is a "fair share"?

Guess I would go back to Jesus who said, "Unto whom much is given, much shall also be required." "Fair share is always a subjective measure."

Because the distribution of wages is so skewed to those who make the salaries decisions, the rich need to be taxed at a higher amount and even a higher rate. And they have been but they need to be made more progressive yet, imo.

The fact that the inequality has increased dramatically over the last 35 years means that the tax rates should reflect that change by increasing the rate for the top brackets - it has not, in fact that top rate has dropped.






“Fair" is subjective but the fairness can be judged by looking at the changes in our tax rates with time in response to the changes in inequality shown above. And the fact that many/most of the rich manage to avoid paying their designated (what some people term “fair”) tax amounts (by offshoring or paying capital gains instead of regular tax rates) shows more unfairness.

Hope this answers your “question”.

I've heard it characterized in several different ways. One, that the percentage of spendable income of people in all tax brackets and all income levels be affected equally by the tax burden. That would include deductions and exemptions being allowed at the same percentages for all taxpayers. Two, that there be a single effective tax rate based on percentage of income, with no deductions or exemptions (similar to the Forbes "Flat Tax" proposal of several years back).

I've also heard proposals that tax rates be calculated based on their impact on, or use of the infrastructure they support. That would require a lot of complicated calculation, and it would make it hard to spread things out over time, and determine the difference in the level of benefit of things like education.

Charts... definitions... mean nothing if it is subjective.

That brings us back to the original question.

Obviously, it can not be answered in a manner which is constructive to a tax discussion. All we end up with charts that one person likes... opinions another person rests on and a talking point for liberals who want more of my money.

For those rich liberals who like paying their fair share, tell them to quit taking tax breaks and deductions and pay their fair share. or... Is taking all the deductions they can and paying as little as they can -- what they subjectively see as their fair share.

More truth in graphology: debt is in dollars not percentages and we pay interest on the dollar amount not the abstract percentages.