> the reliance on "taxable income" instead of gross is interesting
Taxable income is gross income when you're pulling a wage. Even in a progressive tax system where, for example, your first $10,000 untaxed, it's still taxable income because even if you make $12,000 then the full amount is used to determine your tax bill.
> Wouldn't a progressive tax policy look similar to the paper's stats since more income would be taxable for folks with lower income?
I'm not even sure what you're trying to say here. Be specific.
I think the usage of taxable income _might_ skew the numbers in a way that looks more income inequitable than in the past but reflects better accounting of income tax-wise. An example is the alternative minimum tax which makes more non-wage income such as options to purchase stock below market value count as taxable income.
I lost my place in the PDF but it looks like they calculated based on wages etc. and not a specific tax form line item. The source data is "Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey"
A progressive tax policy might count more and additional income sources for high wage earners and reduce taxable income for low wage earners. The authors are more sophisticated than that though.
Taxable income is gross income when you're pulling a wage. Even in a progressive tax system where, for example, your first $10,000 untaxed, it's still taxable income because even if you make $12,000 then the full amount is used to determine your tax bill.
> Wouldn't a progressive tax policy look similar to the paper's stats since more income would be taxable for folks with lower income?
I'm not even sure what you're trying to say here. Be specific.