No middle class person in the United States "pays more" than an upper class person, unless that person is actually evading taxes and destined for prison. It is simply mathematically impossible due to the AMT.
The ONLY caveat to this long-term capital gains, which makes a wealthy hedge fund manager who is tax efficient about his investment strategy pay approximately the same or a few percentage points less than an upper middle class childless couple that rents. (And there the reasoning is about double taxation and the macroeconomic effects that would have.)
Some on either side of the aisle may spin a yarn about the rich not paying their share, but as always I suggest ignoring the rhetoric, looking at the facts, and doing the math yourself.
The ONLY caveat to this long-term capital gains, which makes a wealthy hedge fund manager who is tax efficient about his investment strategy pay approximately the same or a few percentage points less than an upper middle class childless couple that rents. (And there the reasoning is about double taxation and the macroeconomic effects that would have.)
Some on either side of the aisle may spin a yarn about the rich not paying their share, but as always I suggest ignoring the rhetoric, looking at the facts, and doing the math yourself.