So what is being discussed in this article is how people who already pay a disproportionate portion of their income in taxes are being looked to to pay more.  Not surprisingly, the higher your income, the more tax you will pay, not just in dollars but as a percentage of income, due to the 'progressivity' of our tax system. Lets also not forget that this is only the Federal Government level we're talking about B.C., Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia have all introduced special, high income tax brackets for their wealthiest income earners, although the threshold income levels at which they begin to apply vary wildly.   As a result the top 1% of income earners paid a staggering 21.2% of the total federal and provincial taxes in 2010. The top 10% paid 54.8% of all taxes while the bottom 50% of Canadian income earners contributed 4% towards the collective personal tax bill.  Progressive enough for the three levels of government?  An how do the middle class with no pension save for retirement?