On Tue, 27 Feb 2007, Chad Walstrom wrote: > On Tue, Feb 27, 2007 at 01:09:48PM -0600, Mike Miller wrote: > >> Sorry, but what does "the flat-tax rate that we already pay here in the >> US (approximately 40% if you're wondering)" mean? We don't pay a flat >> tax in the US. Do you mean that if we paid a flat tax it would be 40%? >> I can believe that. > > http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Taxes/Advice/YourRealTaxRate40.aspx According to the article, on average, including all forms of taxation: A 30-year-old couple earning $50,000 a year, for instance, pays 24.4%, and a 60-year-old couple making $150,000 a year faces a tax rate of 47.7%. They call that "an exception" (feel free to laugh at that). The fact is, we don't pay a flat tax. If we were to convert to a flat tax system, and do away with sales taxes, the article is suggesting that the rate would be about 40%. Of course we will never do that because the distribution of tax revenues is a very complex problem that is now being solved partly by all sorts of sales taxes. Mike