Which is why you simplify it in such a way as to make tax games impossible. Here's my favoured solution: the US Government spent $3.6 trillion this year. There

Which is why you simplify it in such a way as to make tax games impossible. Here's my favoured solution: the US Government spent $3.6 trillion this year. There are 280 million people living there. Therefore, Federal tax should be a flat $12,857 per person. For the average income earner, this is about the same as they're already paying. For those earning more, they find they're incentivised to work harder, since every dollar they earn beyond that point is entirely their own. And for those earning less... well, it's the kick in the butt that they need to start working harder too. Not too easy to game that system, is it?