Bludgeoning earners

I have often wondered, what is the moral and ethical justification for inflicting progressively higher rates of taxation on high-income earners? Why must high-income earners be bludgeoned with high rates of tax? Our Government is hell-bent on treating everyone equally and making us a “high-wage economy”. If the taxation regime was such that the first $20,000 of income was free of tax and the remainder taxed at a flat rate, every income earner would be treated equally. It would encourage highincome earners to stay and those overseas to come to New Zealand. Lloyd Murcott, Whangamata¯.