>>>>>It may become hard to convince people who don't pay taxes that my taxes are too high. The situation is quickly approaching the point when majority of voters will pay no income tax but their vote will set taxes for minority (taxpayers).
>>>>
>>>>Do you have some evidence for this?
>>>>
>>>>FWIW, that's how income started. It was originally on only the very top earners. I forget the stats, but like 2% of the workforce.
>>>>
>>>>Tamar
>>>
>>>I am a bit confused. You ask for evidence and then call it self-evident by historical example.
>>>By the way, we could go deeper to the history. One smart person (I can confuse names here, so no name, sorry) said somewhere in 4th century BC that democracy ends when citizens grasp the way to vote themselves subsidies from the public treasury. He lived in Athens, probably was a taxpayer, and knew accordingly from where these subsidies originate.
>>
>>Ed,
>>
>>With your obvious abhorrence of taxation, how would a government get the money it needs to deliver even the basic services?
>
>Abhorrence? It is too strong. I just consider taxation as a dangerous tool in unscrupulous hands, because it is not limited, i.e. it may go beyond traditional system of checks and balances. The best solution, I am not very optimistic about it, would be unconditional (constitutional ?) cap on excessive taxation. I don't like your crazy level number (55%), the same way as you do, so what you think about chances to stop it on this level? Pretty low, eh? Mostly, because 'basic services' are very elastic.

As a Federal income tax (i.e. not an accumulation of all of the taxs/fees paid to the various government levels) I think 55% maximum is realistic.

As for services being elastic, I quite agree. The U.S. emphasizes the military while many other countries emphasize health care and child care and such.
But what's funny is that, by far and away, it is Americans who complain vociferously about tax rates compared to people in those countries funding health care and child care. I wonder why that is? Do you think it might have something to do with getting real tangible populaton-wide services rather than a huge and secretive military?