[net.taxes] Terminology - Flat, Fixed, Progressive

mlm@cmu-cs-cad.ARPA (Michael Mauldin) (03/01/85)

Let's get it right, people!

PROGRESSIVE	an increasing percentage (e.g. Federal income tax).
FIXED		a fixed percentage (e.g. Penn. income tax, state sales tax).
REGRESSIVE	a decreasing percentage (e.g. US FICA over 38k).
FLAT		each person a fixed amount (e.g. Pgh Occ. tax $10 per person).

The most popular is NOT a flat tax, but rather a fixed tax.

ps: My vote is for fixed tax on citizens with explicit government
subsidies for supporting low income people, rewarding people who
install energy efficient heaters, etc.  No corporate taxes (they just
charge us, the customers, higher prices to pay for them anyway).

Michael L. Mauldin (Fuzzy)		Department of Computer Science
Mauldin@CMU-CS-CAD.ARPA			Carnegie-Mellon University
(412) 578-3065				Pittsburgh, PA  15213