Progressive income tax rates are obviously about empathy for the poor because they have the least amount of discretionary income and cutting into that pushes them closer to the point where they have to make basic choices like food versus rent, new shoes for the kids versus medicine, etc. Those choices excite a lot more sympathy than Virgina Beach versus St. Bart's or Lexus versus BMW.
Once you get into property taxes, automobile taxes, etc. you are talking about people who can downsize if they can't afford the tax, or keep the property but compromise on some other luxury item, but when they are property or automobile owners, the tax usually won't affect them as starkly as an income tax will affect people in the lowest brackets.
I'm not sure about payroll taxes - - I think OK at the same rate for the guy making minimum wage as for the guy making big bucks because they all get it back in the end in the form of pension income or benefits. If you were to cut the payroll tax for a minimum wage worker, wouldn't he get less in pension benefits when he retires?
And sales tax, I already said was unfair to the poor. The unfairness can be mitigated as in Canada by rebates to the lower brackets when they file their tax returns. Also by the exemption of some basic items like food and medicine from the sales tax. Across the board sales tax on all items without exception, and without rebates, would indeed be unfair to the poor, which I think is recognized by the fact that the government DOES rebate to the poor and DOES except milk, food, medicine, etc. from the sales tax.
