The ability-to-pay philosophy of taxation maintains that taxes should be levied according to a taxpayer’s ability to pay. The idea is that people, businesses, and corporations with higher incomes can and should pay more in taxes.
- The ability-to-pay principle holds that those who have a greater ability to pay taxes—measured by income and wealth—should pay more.
- One idea behind “ability to pay” is that those who have enjoyed success should be willing to give back a little more to the society that helped make that success possible.
- Proponents of “ability to pay” argue that a single dollar ultimately means less to a rich person than a wage earner, so the rich should pay more to equalize their sacrifice.
