Joe Friday would be proud with The Economist's list of facts, which are often contradictory, about defining fair tax policy:
"When it comes to taxing high earners more, I am not sure what fairness has got to do with it. According to the Tax Foundation in 2008 the 5% of earners earned 34.7% of the nation's adjusted gross income, but paid approximately 58.7% percent of federal individual income taxes. Is that not their fair share?
Defenders of progressive taxation usually make a utilitarian argument. If you earn $250,000 parting with $20,000 is not as big a deal as it would be if you earned $25,000. In economics we’d say high earners receive a smaller benefit from an extra unit of consumption (assuming they spend more than poor people). So parting with some of your disposable income is less painful."
"Just the facts, ma'am."
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