http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2010/03/taxes-per-person.html http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2010/03/taxes-per-person.html For another interesting bit (namely,

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2010/03/taxes-per-person.html http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2010/03/taxes-per-person.html For another interesting bit (namely, what country has the most progressive tax system), see http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-nation-has-most-progressive-tax.html http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-nation-has-most-... and http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=4626 http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=4626 . Short version - revenues aren't rates and both spending and gdp matter. (And, some assets aren't taxed - a huge fraction of Warren Buffet's fortune will never be taxed and none of his "I think rich people should pay more" proposals will change that. He's pushing taxes that other people will pay, often folks who he's trying to buy from.)