America has a progressive tax system, so the more you make, the more taxes you pay. This allows for a redistribution of wealth to help lower inequality. However, that's not how our system actually works, according to the IRS.

The progressive tax system and the theory of trickle-down economics no longer work. Bernie Sanders knows this because he's running for president on this principle. He wants to tax the super rich. Not tax the hell out of them, but make them pay their fair share. He's done some extreme calculations that prove if the super rich are taxed accordingly, things like college could be free. 

What got him onto this idea?

The Washington Post reported today that "the IRS found that as you go from being merely wealthy (the 1 percent) to super-duper wealthy (the 0.001 percent), your average federal income tax rate actually goes down." 

Take a look for yourself:

 

So according to the chart, a person in the top 0.001 percent income bracket -- who would have an adjusted gross income of at least $62,000,000 -- pays the nearly same effective tax rate as somebody in the top 20 percent bracket who makes $85,000 in adjusted gross income.

Clearly, that's not how federal income taxes under a progressive tax system were supposed to work. 

So why do the super-rich pay a relatively low rate? For a variety of reasons. They benefit from a whole host of deductions -- like the mortgage on a yacht, for instance -- and other tax benefits that many people don't qualify for.

What's the answer? Maybe vote in Bernie Sanders. Sanders would like to see the top income tax rate rise to 90 percent, where it was back in the 1940s and 1950s.

What do you think about the super-rich paying the same in tax deductions as an average American? Sound off below. 

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC its affiliates, or its employees.

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