Those tax payers already pay 60% of the total tax bill today. And the top 10% earners pay a total of 80% of the total income taxes. And now they will be asked to pay more? Here is the problem with that plan. A very high percent of the folks that earn those high incomes and pay that high % of the total tax bill can afford to not work and may chose not to. Another high percent are close to the end of their career and will decide to move from a tax payer to a retiree and start drawing social security and become a tax taker vs a tax payer. If even 10% of those high income tax payers decide to some how drop their income to avoid paying more, than the rest of all there 81K people will have to make it up. And that means a huge tax increase.

In the past few weeks I know 3 people who have made a conscious decision to do something different. Now 2 of the 3 would have done something in the next 2 or 3 years anyway, but 1 is in his 40's, making big bucks, and decided to take his sail boat and do a round the world vacation for 2 years. And his reason was he was sick of the tax burden and decided if it was going up, he would take a pass. Higher taxes drive the highest paying people off the tax roles.