What you're doing is saying "this class of people is treated different than that other class of people because they make less money." It doesn't matter what that number is - you're still dividing a continuum into discrete intervals. Rather than acknowledging that wealth is a spectrum, you're chopping it arbitrarily into "rich" and "poor." Know why US taxes are so retardedly complicated? Tax brackets. Know why the wealthy pay less taxes than you do? Because retardedly complicated systems favor those who can pay professionals to save them money. I don't care where you put that number. Guaranteed, the minute you institute it you'll generate an entire industry dedicated to making it look like their clients are on the shiny side of it.
"Personally, I am all for a flat tax, so long as the wealthy have ZERO way of navigating around it. This means if its a flat 10% (for easy math), you are paying the govt 10% of ALL earnings regardless of weather they are investment driven etc. If you earn 50k a year you will pay 5k in taxes. If you earn 500k in capital gains, you will pay 50k in taxes etc. Currently capital gains are taxed at a 15% rate. This isn't right. The idea that raising this tax will "drive away investment" is false. I'm all for fair and right now, what we have isn't fair. If we must remain in a graduated tax bracket system, then the wealthy need to pay a higher percent. Otherwise, introduce a flat tax that isn't "game-able" and I'm in. (edit) This flat tax would have to be over a poverty line that is higher than what is currently in place." The ONLY way I would ever support such a tax is if it were impossible for the wealthy to falsify there "shine" -as you put it. Is this naive to think it could exist. -Probably. Otherwise, I'm cool with a graduated rate that increases with earnings. I was once at a dinner party and almost everyone at the table was talking about how they wish the govt would simplify the tax code. I say "almost everyone" because the guy next to be spoke up and said, "i hope they make the tax code as complex as they possibly can". -I soon found out he owned a tax software company. Just seems to me the simpler you make it, the harder it would be to cheat it.