>A flat tax sounds fair but isn't. It would increase the burden on the poor and reduce the burden on the rich. Of course it is a popular idea with Republicans, who are making a concerted effort in exactly that direction. Robin Hood in reverse.

It is fair if all those silly loopholes are closed as well.

>Discussing tax rates also partially misses the point. The rich tend to pay taxes on capital gains, not salary, i.e. 15%. Even Warren Buffett says it's an unfair system when I pay taxes at a lower rate than my secretary.

The lower tax rate it needed to offset loss of purchasing power.
If 1M$ gives you risk free interest of 5%
(what is risk free when you look a debt of nearly all western countries...)
you "earn" 50K while at the same time you loose about 20K of purchasing power.

15% of 50K= 7.5K taxes via tax code
25% of 30K= 7.5K taxes via adjusted purchasing power

my 0.03$ (as those are US tax rates)

thomas