Fair enough. I was not responding to GP - only the parent who asked: > I often see this “half” income lost to taxes figure on HN and it often doesn’t stand up

Fair enough. I was not responding to GP - only the parent who asked: > I often see this “half” income lost to taxes figure on HN and it often doesn’t stand up to scrutiny Elsewhere on HN, many people do use their marginal tax rate (and do so correctly). I was only explaining how that 50% is a good benchmark to use and why so many use it. You are correct that if I was responding to GP, my comment would be misleading. Unfortunately, I think my brain short-circuited when I saw "Clinton" in GP's post and I skipped by it :)