Title: Regressive, Proportional, and Progressive Taxes: What's the Difference?
Headings: Regressive, Proportional, and Progressive Taxes: What's the Difference?
Regressive, Proportional, and Progressive Taxes: What's the Difference?
You likely pay a version of each on income or goods
Regressive, Proportional and Progressive Taxes: An Overview
Key Takeaways
Regressive Taxes
Proportional Taxes
Progressive Taxes
43.8%
Examples of Regressive, Proportional, and Progressive Taxes
Regressive Tax
Proportional Tax
Progressive Tax
Regressive Tax, Proportional Tax, and Progressive Tax FAQs
Are Income Taxes Progressive Taxes?
Is the Federal Income Tax Proportional?
Are Regressive Taxes Fair?
What Taxes Are Considered Regressive?
How Do You Calculate Progressive Tax?
The Bottom Line
Article Sources

Content: A progressive tax imposes a greater percentage of taxation on higher income levels, operating on the theory that high-income earners can afford to pay more. Regressive Taxes
Low-income individuals pay a higher amount of taxes compared to high-income earners under a regressive tax system. That's because the government assesses tax as a percentage of the value of the asset that a taxpayer purchases or owns. This type of tax has no correlation with an individual's earnings or income level. 1 ﻿
Regressive taxes include property taxes, sales taxes on goods, and excise taxes on consumables, such as gasoline or airfare. Excise taxes are fixed and they're included in the price of the product or service. Sin taxes, a subset of excise taxes, are imposed on commodities or activities that are perceived to be unhealthy or have a negative effect on society, such as cigarettes, gambling, and alcohol. They're levied in an effort to deter individuals from purchasing these products. Sin tax critics argue that these disproportionately affect those who are less well off. Many also consider Social Security to be a regressive tax.