>...All western nations used to have far higher top marginal rates for income and inheritance taxes. Far less loopholes, and yet here we are. When western nati

>...All western nations used to have far higher top marginal rates for income and inheritance taxes. Far less loopholes, and yet here we are. When western nations had far higher top marginal rates for income there were far MORE loopholes, not less. Those high rates did not bring in much revenue. For example: >...Of the $517 billion the Treasury collected in 1980, only $3 billion to $5 billion came from the 70 percent bracket — less than 1 percent of total tax revenue. https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2019/02/05/democrats-70-percent-tax-rate-000879/ https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2019/02/05/democrats-7... (This is one reason that democrats suggested lowering the top rate in 1981.) Those high marginal rates encouraged all kinds of unproductive investments to take advantage of loopholes built into the law. Where people couldn't get around such high rates, there were deadweight losses from economic activity that didn't occur. Even if someone thinks it is morally ok to take that much of someone's income, those kinds of high rates simply hurt the economy.