A more progressive tax system makes people happier The way some
people talk, you'd think that a flat tax system -- in which
everyone pays at the same rate regardless of income -- would
make citizens feel better than more progressive taxation, where
wealthier people are taxed at higher rates. Indeed, the U.S. has
been diminishing progressivity of its tax structure for decades.
But a new study comparing 54 nations found that flattening the
tax risks flattening social wellbeing as well. "The more
progressive the tax policy is, the happier the citizens are,"
says University of Virginia psychologist Shigehiro Oishi,
summarizing the findings, which will be published in an upcoming
issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for
Psychological Science. Oishi conducted the study with Ulrich
Schimmack of the University of Toronto at Mississauga and Ed
Diener, also at University of Illinois and the Gallup
Organization. The researchers analyzed the relationship between
tax progressivity and personal well