Todays tax policy largely ignores age old principles

[no1_vern]

From the N. Y. TIMES:

The idea of basing taxes on the ability to pay dates to ancient Athens. The American tax policy has veered from two classic philosophical insights about how to finance government: "horizontal equity" and "vertical equity." Horizontal equity means that people with similar incomes and family structures pay similar amounts of tax. Vertical equity means those who have the greatest capacity to pay taxes bear the greatest burden.

QUOTE:
Mr. Bush and his wife, Laura, paid 27.7 percent of their total income in federal income taxes, about the same as the average taxpayer earning $500,000 to $1 million a year. Mr. Cheney and his wife, Lynne, however, paid 19 percent, far below the average of more than 29 percent for those in the $1 million to $2 million income group.
/QUOTE

[Chuckiechan]

I'd like to see the NY Times analyze Theresa Heinz - Kerry's tax return when she finally gives up and makes it public.

Since she says she has no directorship in Heinz, then her income is not wages, but dividends and capital gains. The only other likely income is wages as director of a "non - profit organization". Which could be interesting reading, also.

For all her hollering, she will ultimately be forced to produce her tax returns, since they hounded them out of Gerraldine Ferorro's husband.

[MTAtech]

If your point is that the super-rich are paying less than ever of the tax burden, you are correct. Over the last 20 yrs, the percentage paid by the top 400 wealthiest incomes has dropped significantly.
http://money.cnn.com/2003/06/26/pf/taxes/wealth/

[Atomic Rooster]

Geez. They still pay what, 90+% of the total taxes collected by the IRS.