Reply #185: I propose a 40% flat tax

[NewYorkerfromMass]

All income taxed at 40% after one deduction for yourself.
Yourself = $20,000
So if you make 30k, you pay 40% of $10,000, or $4,000.

Examples:
Gross
$30,000 = 10,000 taxable at 40% = 4,000 taxes (effective 13.333% rate)
$40,000 = 20,000 taxable at 40% = 8,000 taxes (effective 20% rate) this bad only pays 16% now)
$50,000 = 30,000 taxable at 40% = 12,000 taxes (effective 24% rate)
$70,000 = 50,000 taxable at 40% = 20,000 taxes (effective 28.57% rate)
$100,000 = 80,000 taxable at 40% = 32,000 taxes (effective 32% rate)
$200,000 = 180,000 taxable at 40% = 72,000 taxes (effective 36% rate)
$400,000 = 370,000 taxable at 40% = 148,000 taxes (effective 37% rate)

This gets the higher end above the criminally low 35% rate Bush has set for them, which only begins at $326,450.
It's problematic for people making between 40 and 70k since they would pay more than they pay now, but I think you could do something like this and get the high end people back up to 40% which is where they were under Clinton, and I haven't even put in any other deductions for dependents etc...
You might get something to work if the rate was high and standard deductions were also high.
I don't agree with sales taxes. They are terribly regressive unless you structure so-called "luxury taxes".