Are you suggesting that the rich would break the law and engage in tax evasion (not legal loopholes)?
A great portion of my taxes goes to military and police. Wouldn’t they just collect the money push come to shove? They certainly have the capability, but possibly not the will.
It’s relatively easy to pay less taxes than your true compensation once you get past the rank-and-file level of employment.
As income taxes rise there’s a clear pattern of altered compensation like stock grants, expense accounts, etc.
For example, a company can lease an apartment for you to live in. That expense is a write off and isn’t subject to FICA taxes.
Instead of giving you $40,000 in cash which would cost 30% in FICA between you and the company plus personal income tax to you, you can live in a nice $3500/mo apartment you would otherwise be paying for in after tax dollars.
Instead of you paying $800/month+ for a Tesla model X lease with your after tax dollars the company can pay for it, write it off, and again they’re saving 15% on taxes and you’re saving > 40% on that $10,000 and pocketing more of your after tax income.
>For example, a company can lease an apartment for you to live in. That expense is a write off and isn’t subject to FICA taxes.
I'm not an accountant or a tax lawyer, but it doesn't look like that's the case according to the IRS's website. Housing is only exempt if it's "Lodging on your business premises"[1]. A tesla would also likely not be exempt for a typical office worker[2]
It is a thing in the US too. For example, I have to pay income tax on the annual "fitness reimbursement allowance" the company provides for us.
Very simplified version: we can spend up to $1k/yr on fitness related expenses and get them reimbursement. We submit a reimbursement request, and if it gets approved, I get the money back in my account. The HR page explicitly warns that any reimbursement received will count towards your income tax.
If you polled the top brackets I think you'll find that they are more than happy to continue with our current tax system.