Every American should pay the same percentage of taxes. The Rich Essay

Every American should pay the same percentage of taxes. The Rich should not be forced to support the poor and lazy - Essay Example he US income tax structure as either of these have faced the same problem, for albeit it has followed an essentially progressive taxation framework since its inception in that the rich have had to bear larger tax rates compared to the poor, often there have been certain tax cuts or impositions that allegedly go against the principle of progression itself (Folsom, 1999). Apart from this aspect, the assumptions that justify progressive taxation have also been challenged leading to considerable debate that has not limited itself to only politicians or economists. Considerable amounts have been written and spoken about regarding the tax system that should be followed and the structure taxation should assume in the USA. The common layman like the erudite scholar has developed his particular opinion regarding the pattern in which taxes should be levied and the incidences the different economic classes should bear. This lack of consensus is at least partially a result of under-comprehension of the socio-economic aspects that govern the system and this lack of comprehension is evident in the large furore that is the inevitable result of any tax cuts for the upper or the upper-middle class. This non-substantial general comprehension stems from among other things, the fact that the degree of progression has observed remarkable instability and variation in th e US economy. For instance, while in 1954, federal income tax was imposed at different rates ranging from 20% to 91% for 24 different income bracket layers (Internal Revenue Code, 1954) brackets with the tax rates varying from 10% to 35% in 20061. Thus although both these structures were progressive in nature, the changes brought about that reduced the number of brackets as well as the magnitude of the tax rates can be argued to have been regressive, as the maximum tax rate has been reduced from 91 to 35 percentage points and the minimum has been reduced to 10% from 20%. The IRS reports that for the year 2006, the top