Pros And Cons Of A Progressive Tax

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A progressive tax is a tax system in which the amount of taxes a person must pay increases as the amount of income a person earns. In the United States, we have a tax bracket system in which income gets divided into several different ranges, with each range taxed at a higher rate than the range below. Thus, low-income people for example, may have a tax rate of 10%, the middle class may have a tax rate of 15% and the rich a tax rate of 25%. Essentially, as income increases, individuals pay a higher tax rate, forcing those who earn more money to pay more in taxes to the federal government. However, for some people this system is not fair and they are adamantly against progressive taxes, while others believe that a progressive tax system in necessary…show more content…
The first reason for supporting a progressive tax system is that citizens believe that as a person wealth increases, they should pay more in taxes. This comes from the idea that the wealthy essentially have a vested interest in keeping the status quo and want to maintain the existing social structures. Secondly, without a progressive tax system the wealth of the United States would remain in the hand of a few citizens. A progressive system attempts to redistribute wealth by taking it from the very rich who have the ability to pay more and give it to those with less. Basically attempting to reduce inequality of income and thus prevent social stratification that can be harmful to the United States. Thirdly, those in favor of a progressive taxe argue that the tax system increases an individual’s incentive to earn more since overall income is necessary to reach one’ ultimate income goals if a higher proportion is paid in taxes. Fourth and finally it protects taxpayers during hard economic times in that when income goes down, the tax rate also goes down. Therefore, if an individual is struggling to earn money they are not taxed a flat rate or a flat amount, the overall amount they are required to pay goes

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