Editorial Board
The Case Against 70 Percent
Income taxes should be progressive, but their purpose is not to castigate the rich.
A new voice.
Photographer: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
In what might have been an offhand comment, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat newly elected to the House of Representatives, told an interviewer that a marginal income tax of 70 percent might make sense for people earning more than $10 million a year. The idea is attracting attention, and at least one poll suggests it might be popular. The current top rate on earned income, not counting Medicare taxes, is 37 percent. Could it really make sense to almost double it?
The idea is unwise — but worth discussing.