That's because the rich use up infrastructure and protection (they have more stuff worth stealing) more than they would if they were poor. The poor also get a p

That's because the rich use up infrastructure and protection (they have more stuff worth stealing) more than they would if they were poor. The poor also get a pass because they can't easily pay regular tax rates and we want to lift them out of poverty so we can tax them more once they are (hopefully) in the middle class.