Next year, the highest federal tax rate will be around 40%. The highest state income tax is 13%. I guess if you factor in sales tax, and various soft taxes, you could get pretty close, but yeah. Seems exaggerated.
Oh boy. Tax brackets are incremental. Most people in the 40% bracket will not pay anywhere near 40%. There is a theoretical possibility that someone, who's income exceeds the highest bracket MANY times will have an effective tax rate approaching 40%. But in reality people with that kind of income derive their earnings from sources that are taxed in a very different way such as long-term gains.