Tax Burden Analysis: "What is Fair?" Questions from Chris Johnson

The following is excerpted from our Borgmann Family List-serve. My brother in law, Chris, writes here daily. I'm appreciative of his entry into the dialogue, and his own posing of critical questions.

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Tax Burden Analysis

I thought this was an interesting site.....

http://www.ntu.org/main/page.php?PageID=6

This link shows the categorical break-down of the US Income Tax burden over the past 8
years.

Yesterday there was discussion about fairness, although we didn't
really come to any conclusion other than fair has a different
definition depending upon what angle you look at it from. That's how
I saw it, and didn't really hear back on it. "No taxation without
representation?" What is fair and balanced representation? Surely every person deserves to be represented. But do you give any value to what a persons level of contribution to the government or society is?

From 1999 til now, the top 1% paid 10% more in tax revenue, the top
25% paid 3.26% more, the top 50% paid 1% more, and the bottom 50%
paid 25% less. Also, in that same time, the threshold for average
income went up from $26,415 to $31,987 (up 21%), and the threshold
for the top 1% went from $293,415 to $388,806 (up 32.5%) So the rich
got richer, the average got richer, but it's tough to say that the
poor got poorer, because I don't have any data from this that shows
where the bottom 1% is, what poverty level is, etc.

I agree that the wealthy should pay more in taxes than the poor. And they do. But how is it not currently fair. At what point WOULD it be fair?

It was mentioned yesterday about a possible flat tax rate. What would
that tax rate be? How could the lowest 50% afford that? And where
would we find the money to fund our government if that were the case?

cj