Is It Ethical to Tax the Rich More

Should the Rich Pay Higher Taxes? I would first like to start off by saying that this question really doesn’t make sense as the rich already pay higher taxes and the candidates aren’t trying to make it so everyone pays the same amount, just that the rich will either pay more taxes or get a tax break. According to usatoday.com “The 10% of households with the highest incomes pay more than half of all federal taxes. They pay more than 70% of federal income taxes, according to the Congressional Budget Office.” With that being said my paper will be on whether the rich should have their taxes raised while those making under $200,000 a year $250,000 joint filing have their taxes stay the same or if everyone should have a tax break and whether or not one is more ethical than the other. According to bankrate.com “the current tax brackets are at 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35%. Obama’s tax plan has them at 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 36%, and 39.6% and Romney’s tax plan at 8%, 12%, 20%, 22.4%, 26.4%, and 28%.” There are other tax issues with capital gains, estate tax, AMT, corporate tax, and international tax but for the sake of this essay I will stick to income tax. In an online article poll done by cbsnews.com it found “many Americans believe rich people to be intelligent and hardworking but also greedy and less honest than the average American. Nearly six in 10, or 58 percent, say the rich don 't pay enough in taxes, while 26 percent believe the rich pay their fair share and 8 percent say they pay too much.” My personal thoughts on the situation are that the rich shouldn’t have their taxes raised just because they decided to work harder in life and get a better education such as a masters or doctorate degree and decided to be lawyers and doctors instead of social workers. It is unethical to tax someone based on the life path they decided to take and because they were willing to put forth the effort to get there. I personally come from both walks of life having separated