High Marginal Tax Rates

This post by the Tax Prof summarizes the effect on marginal tax rates of the proposed health care legislation.  Marginal tax rates as high as 80% are creeping into the middle income tax brackets.  It appears that some version of the health care bills will become reality, and it underlines the damage that a fragmented tax system can cause.  http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2009/10/80-marginal-.html

Except for reducing "waste and fraud" there is little in the legislation that reduces cost, and a lot that selectively raises taxes.  Few are asking "If you can actually reduce waste and fraud, why aren't you doing it now?" 

The single rate income tax proposed in the Hedge Tax would directly affect 85% of the taxpayers.  The increase would be directly visible, and all of us could decide whether we wanted to increase it to pay for this program.