[hnmonkey]

That massively massively penalizes people who are more poor or middle class vs someone that has millions or billions. 30% of a million is 333k, but 30% of 31k is 10.3k. I imagine losing that 10.3k hurts the 30k person far more than losing the 333k does to the person who is now making 667k.

Why would you want a flat tax for everyone above 30k?

[ratsmack]

It depends on what rate is chosen. I've read that an 8% tax applied this way would reap more tax than the current system. My personal effective federal tax rate has always been between 17-20% on an income of about $100K/yr.

[ratsmack]

The $30K I noted is arbitrary and only chosen because that is the approximate poverty line currently.

[hnmonkey]

Just so you know the poverty line is $12k-$15k for single people and $25k-$31k for a family of 4.