Title: What Are the Pros & Cons of a Progressive Tax? | Pocketsense
Headings: What Are the Pros & Cons of a Progressive Tax?
What Are the Pros & Cons of a Progressive Tax?
Redistribution
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Fairness and Transparency
Alternatives to the Progressive Income Tax Model

Content: What Are the Pros & Cons of a Progressive Tax? | Pocketsense
What Are the Pros & Cons of a Progressive Tax? •••
Ryan McVay/Digital Vision/Getty Images
By: Michael Roennevig
Updated December 12, 2019
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In progressive tax regimes, the wealthy pay more into the public purse than those further down the income scale. The United States operates a system of progressive income taxation. In 2012, single American taxpayers earning between $0 and $8,700 paid 10 percent of their earnings in federal income taxes, while those fortunate enough to earn over $388,350 had to hand over 35 percent of their income. Some people would like to see the country's tax regime become even more progressive by increasing the amount the rich have to pay, while others support the introduction of a system of flat taxation in which all taxpayers would pay a the same rate, regardless of income. There are also tax reformers who argue the country should do away with income tax entirely and switch to a model of taxation based on consumption. Redistribution
Proponents of progressive income taxation systems argue that they ensure that those with the broadest shoulders bear the greatest burden. Flat-tax regimes result in those on lower incomes losing a greater proportion of their disposable income, due in part to the fact that they have to pay the same regressive taxes as the rich on the goods and services they buy.