Should the wealthy pay more taxes?

There's a moral obligation to look after the less privileged

Question: Should the wealthy pay more taxes?
Position1 of 2›: Yes, the wealthy should have to pay more in taxes
Argument‹3 of 3: There's a moral obligation to look after the less privileged

The wealthy have the resources to significantly help those least advantaged. They should be obliged to do so.

The argument

In modern civilised societies there is a shared belief that humans are entitled to a certain standard of living and access to vital public services irrespective of their income or background. This fundamental principle is at the heart of most liberal democratic societies and relates to the belief that the needs of the individual should be super ceded by the needs of the community. This philosophy advocates that those with the greatest means should pay the highest amount of cost and this should be reflected in a modern tax system.

Premises

[P1]Liberal democratic societies share the belief that everyone is entitled to a basic standard of living and vital public services regardless of income, with the needs of the community taking precedence over those of the individual. [P2] This principle holds that those with the greatest means should bear the highest share of the cost, a duty that should be reflected in a modern tax system. [C] Therefore, because there is a moral obligation to look after the less privileged, the wealthy should pay more in taxes.

Counter-arguments

In most societies the majority of tax is already paid by the wealthiest people, both directly through higher rates of income tax and indirectly through taxes on spending such as Value Added Tax (VAT). In the UK, the wealthiest one per cent account for third of all income tax. Any attempts to increase the tax burden on the wealthiest in society would be viewed as both divisive and unfair.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P3] The wealthy already pay more in tax.