> If we have tax brackets, then yeah sure there could be an unlucky minority of people who just barely land in a higher bracket than someone just under the line, so they pay a higher percentage than someone else.
This statement makes me think you might be confused about tax brackets. This is a common misconception, so I'll explain how tax brackets work.
Tax brackets assign a percentage to tax up to a certain amount of income. Suppose you went over a bracket by $100, then only that $100 is going to taxed the highest amount. The entire income is not taxed the amount in the highest tax bracket. So, while the unlucky people are still taxed at a higher amount, it is for a very small amount of their income. Their after tax income will be still be more than somebody who earned less money and was just under a tax bracket.
This statement makes me think you might be confused about tax brackets. This is a common misconception, so I'll explain how tax brackets work.
Tax brackets assign a percentage to tax up to a certain amount of income. Suppose you went over a bracket by $100, then only that $100 is going to taxed the highest amount. The entire income is not taxed the amount in the highest tax bracket. So, while the unlucky people are still taxed at a higher amount, it is for a very small amount of their income. Their after tax income will be still be more than somebody who earned less money and was just under a tax bracket.