Please go back and read more precisely. I didn't say that I had an actual marginal tax rate of 75%, I said "an apparent marginal tax rate of 75%", using that "a

Please go back and read more precisely. I didn't say that I had an actual marginal tax rate of 75%, I said "an apparent marginal tax rate of 75%", using that "apparent" qualification quite intentionally. Looking at the picture with an understanding of what's going on, it's clear that there's a degree of apples and oranges here. I don't know what my tax liability would be if I were to take the previous year's data and apply the current tax rules to it, but that's what would show what my actual marginal rate is. What I'm trying to illustrate is that the real-world experience of a taxpayer, under the regime of a byzantine tax code, can (and did, in my case) experience a severe dis-incentive to further productivity. And the farther the tax code moves in a "progressive" direction, the more frequently this will be true. Incentives matter. (Sorry, I'm not going to announce all my financial data on the Internet)