Raising taxes on the wealthy would reduce inequality
Income inequality would significantly decrease if the wealthy had to pay more tax, stabilising the middle class.
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The Argument
The current tax system in most Western capitalist societies creates economic polarisation, dividing society between those with economic means and those without. A system that taxes the poor and rich at a similar rate leaves those on lower income with less money available to meet the growing price of essential goods, including housing, transport, and food.
Higher rates of tax on the wealthy as opposed to the poor serves as a check on this and preserves the critical middle classes, ensuring that there is room for social mobility.
Counter arguments
The vast majority of wealth and job creation is created through the ingenuity of a minority of individuals who often recycle their wealth by re-investing it into the wider economy. A higher tax on the wealthiest in society disincentivises this behaviour and is often seen as punishing success.
It is no surprise that some of the most productive economies in the world with the highest levels of job creation also have lower levels of personal and corporate taxation.
Proponents
Premises
[P1] The current tax system exacerbates inequality.
[P2] To lessen this, the wealthy should pay more in tax.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P2] Raising taxes on the wealthy only serves to deincentivise wealth creation.