Basis for an Income Tax

[Vendetta]

The catch is that it was originally conceived as a tax that would primarily hit the rich, not small businessmen or workers. Thirty-five years of Republicans have done their best to make it a much flatter tax than it was originally designed to be.

Lets not forget the ongoing shift of wealth away from income.

Income taxes don't hit the very rich as much as they used to because they've redefined their wealth away from taxable income.

[Simon_Jester]

The very rich always had a large fraction of their total income in stocks and so on.

I'm pretty sure the change is mostly due to capital gains being given special status compared to a salary you earn by working.