Title: A Progressive Tax is More Fair Than a Flat Tax - Fact or Myth?
Headings: A Progressive Tax is More Fair Than a Flat Tax
A Progressive Tax is More Fair Than a Flat Tax Fact
What is More Fair, a Flat Tax or Progressive Tax?
The Bottomline on a Progressive Tax vs. a Flat Tax
Quickly Considering All the Different Taxes
A Summary of Why a Progressive Income Tax is More Fair than a Flat Income Tax in General
Considering Why Shifting the Tax Burden to the Lower Classes Isn’t “Fair”
Looking at the Data on Income and Tax Burden by Percentile
Considering the Above Arguments in More Detail
Considering Examples of a Flat Tax vs. a Progressive Tax
Considering Ability to Pay and Total Tax Burden
More Arguments for a Progressive Tax Being More Fair
A Modified Flat Tax: Considering How Flat Taxes Could be Made More Fair
Flat Tax vs. Progressive Tax: Definitions
A Progressive Income Tax Vs. a Flat Income Tax: Which is More Fair? – Addressing Some Semantics of Fairness
Other Considerations
Comparing a Progressive Tax to a Flat Tax
What is a Progressive Tax?
What is a Flat Tax?
In What Ways is a Progressive Tax More Fair Than a Flat Tax? – Further Justifications
Are the Flat Tax Alternatives More Fair?
In What Ways is a Modified Flat Tax More Fair Than a Flat Tax?
A Modified Flat Tax with a UBI
More Ways is a Flat Tax More Fair Than a Progressive Tax?
Is the Current Progressive Tax System in America Fair?
Is There a Truly Fair Tax?
Conclusion
Citations

Content: A true flat tax (one that applied to everybody at a flat rate) would, considering the above, shift the tax burden from high earners to the lower and middle classes despite their inability to pay (in some cases). Those who pay nothing under the current progressive tax system would either pay the flat rate or be excluded based on income, while those who pay little under the current system would not be able to use deductions and credits to reduce their effective income tax burden (thus their rates would effectively go up if no other changes were made). This doesn’t make much sense considering lower-income Americans already pay a disproportionate share of their income in taxes (with all taxes considered) and extend themselves on credit and pay interest on debt (with many lower income families saving nothing or even going into debt each year). The only way to make a flat tax work is to cut spending, raise other taxes, or to increase the tax burden on the middle class (as unlike the lower classes, they still have some money to tax). Thus, the flat tax is just a tax cut for the rich dressed up as a tax cut for the other classes. Any income tax that shifts the burden onto those who are already over burdened with taxes and don’t have the ability to pay is generally not as fair as a system that accounts for differences in income and wealth. This doesn’t make every type of flat tax less fair than every progressive one, nor does it make our current tax system perfect, it just means that a flat tax is less fair than a progressive tax in general if no other considerations are made (and of course, if one makes enough other considerations, like multiple brackets and exclusions for low incomes, they have essentially constructed a progressive tax). Below we cover many more details and lots of data that helps to illustrate these points. TIP: Generally the lower the top tax bracket is, the less brackets there are, and the more flat the tax, the less fair it is.