> Just to correct you a little, its nowhere near half of the your income. Marginal tax rate is 39.6% for a single filer for income in excess of $400k. Of course the majority of states have sales tax, and there's other taxes (state, property, petrol, etc) down the line as well. For some people, it may approach a total of 50% taxation, but that is a tiny tiny minority. And its not like most people making over $400k actually pay that tax rate on all their income, given that we have exceedingly generous deductions and other classes of tax (capital gains, which is a favorite of the rich) that are significantly lower than the marginal rate on standard income.

Math, personal experience, and observation tells me otherwise -- for a human living in California, at least. Between Federal income tax, Social Security tax, State income tax, the various (un)employment taxes, sales tax, excise taxes of one type or another, property tax, etc. I suspect that most people give 1/2 of their income to one government entity or another.

Whether that is an acceptable amount is another matter entirely. That's a normative judgment call. But the raw math seems to indicate a massive haircut.

And don't get me started on the financial burden of the friction of the tax system (aka paperwork and complexity).

(Disclosure: I am an international tax lawyer and it is my job to think tax laws are evil).