@jerv Steep? Well, there was a time when the richest people were paying 90% of income to taxes, if I remember correctly. I would not be unhappy with a 75% marginal tax rate.
There is the problem of incentives, and the rich say they would stop working hard to build new businesses if the taxes were too high, and/or they might leave the country,
Some of that might happen, but I doubt that American rich people would be all that comfortable overseas for the most part. Second, people don’t work hard to make money. They have all the money they could ever use and more. They work hard to make money so they can be at the top of the heap; so that every door is always open to them; so that they are in at the most exclusive place in the world.
Of course it is much more complicated that marginal personal income tax rates. There are capital gains taxes and corporate taxes and a miasma of so-called “tax incentives” that keep rich people growing richer at increasing rates.
But as a general principle, I agree with your idea that the more wealth, income and resources you control, the greater a portion of the Federal government you should pay for. No loopholes. No tax cheat left out of jail.