Should the wealthy pay more taxes?

Wealthy people benefit the most from society’s structure

Question: Should the wealthy pay more taxes?
Position1 of 2›: Yes, the wealthy should have to pay more in taxes
Argument‹2 of 3›: Wealthy people benefit the most from society’s structure

As they see the most benefit from our societal structure, the wealthy should also have to pay more to support it.

The argument

The argument is about reciprocity rather than about need. Under the current capitalist economic model, the richer you are the more societal and material benefits you receive, and this includes attaining a higher standard of public services delivered in part by the private sector. The wealthy are therefore not outside the system of public provision looking in; they are among its largest beneficiaries, receiving a better version of what everyone else receives. If the structure returns most to those at the top, the obligation to fund it falls most heavily on them, and this minority, who do economically better out of the current economic model, can therefore afford to pay a higher rate in taxation to fund public services for the majority. The second strand concerns how the advantage is produced and why it compounds. Wealthy individuals also derive the bulk of their income from fixed assets rather than from work. Society and the economy are set up in a way that benefits the asset rich while punishing those who are asset poor, so the same arrangement that rewards ownership penalises those with nothing to own, and the distance between the two widens without anybody's effort having changed. The tax system is then said to reflect that bias rather than correct it, ensuring a lower rate of tax on dividends and shares compared to income earned through employment. The state taxes the form of income the wealthy mostly receive more lightly than the form most people live on, which compounds an advantage the structure has already granted. On this account the present settlement is tilted before any reform is proposed, so asking the wealthy to pay more is not the introduction of a bias but the removal of one, restoring some proportion between what the structure gives people and what it asks of them in return.

Premises

[P1]Under the current capitalist model the wealthy receive the most societal and material benefits, including higher-standard public services. [P2] The system is structured to favour the asset-rich, and even taxes their dividends and shares at lower rates than earned income. [P3] Because they benefit most from this structure, the wealthy can afford to contribute a higher share to fund public services for the majority. [C] Therefore, since they benefit most from society's structure, the wealthy should pay more in taxes.

Counter-arguments

A sizeable portion of wealthy people opt out of using public services, including education, healthcare, and transport, in most cases relieving pressure on already stretched systems. Despite not using these services, most wealthy people continue to be happy to make a reasonable contribution towards their maintenance. However, the expectation that they should pay an increased amount for services that they do not use is presumptuous.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The wealthy do not benefit the most from social services. On the contrary, they are much less likely to use them, which significantly reduces strain.