What should the highest income tax bracket rate be?

[Nichlemn]

If we're going to have a progressive tax structure, I say we eliminate the bracket system and replace it with a continuous function to determine the rate. I don't think having piecewise discontinuities is a good idea and creates unnecessary distortions, especially when we could just as easily use some other kind of function.

I've always thought about doing that, but I don't know what the exact effects would be, if any.

People need to use calculus to find out how much tax they owe.

[Nichlemn]

I think economic research tends to point to rates above 50% or so being rather pointless, in the sense that they actually lose the government revenue. The only real point of them is to make people feel better.

Actually no, the point to high marginal rates is neither raising revenue or 'making people feel better', it is to try to reduce the power of the elite.

Heaven forbid Bill Gates have more money for his foundation. I assume that's not what you mean by the "power of the elite", but I'm not sure exactly what it might be and what is so dangerous about it. If it's to do with political or media influence, things like campaign finance laws seem far more effective.

[Nichlemn]

I think economic research tends to point to rates above 50% or so being rather pointless, in the sense that they actually lose the government revenue. The only real point of them is to make people feel better.

Actually no, the point to high marginal rates is neither raising revenue or 'making people feel better', it is to try to reduce the power of the elite.

lol. It isn't, because it doesn't. The traditional elites were a lot more powerful back in those days than they are now - largely because they have the resources to game a complicated tax code.

The current tax code is incredibly complicated and full of loopholes.

My impression is in spite of this, it was even more complicated back in the day (see e.g. the Tax Reform Act of 1986).