Under the evil George Bush the income tax system because the most progressive in the world. The top one percent of earners pay more of the total tax than the bottom 95%, with the bottom half of earners paying almost nothing. All earners pay the payroll tax, but that is progressive when you consider that lower wage earners receive a larger percentage of their income from social security when they retire, and medicare benefits are the same for, but, again, the premium payments are higher for those with more income.