Quote:
Originally Posted by Seth Manson
I've been in the top bracket and it wasnt because I took 4hr lunches and played golf.
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There is a point at which your additional work produces marginal additional benefits. The 4 hour lunch and golf thing is a cartoonish exaggeration but if you're a business owner (and you employ people) your management and ideas are generally worth more than your actual physical "work". A medical specialist might be in the top tax bracket and each consultation increases their earnings in a linear fashion but a businessperson increases their income by hiring additional people, outsourcing or investing their money well.
It's possible to be in the top tax bracket and not do THAT much work. It's just that the work is of a different more valuable nature. 2 hours of a boss thinking about strategy can earn more money than a data entry guy working for him for 1000 hours.
That's partially why a higher tax bracket isn't THAT much of a disincentive like everyone makes it out to be. There aren't that many professions that are so highly paid per hour that it's easy to hit $400k and work less.
To the other comments, I bothered replying because you were factually incorrect and engaging in silly hyperbole. Just because I agree that 90% is too high doesn't change the fact some dumb shit was posted.