Say what you will about the supposed "graduated tax" that we Americans pay.
The reality is a 40% marginal rate:
In a study for the National Bureau of Economic Research, Boston University economists Laurence J. Kotlikoff and David Rapson have found that our all-in marginal tax rate is 40%, give or take a bit. Yes, you read that right: 40%..
.. The average marginal tax rate on incomes between $20,000 and $500,000 is 40.3%, the median tax rate is 41.8%, and the standard deviation of all of those rates is 5.3 percentage points. Basically, most of us pay about 40%, plus or minus 5.3 percentage points.
The article goes on to argue that we should all ask our representatives and senators if they are aware of this. If they are not, they should not be in office.
I'd argue something completely different. If you aren't, as a politician, aware of the basics of the tax law, then you should be fined for every "fact" you try to dispell to the people. Call it the
accountability tax.
They shouldn't be able to give themselves raises, either.