The US economy, as everyone knows, is not in its best shape. One way the government makes money is by imposing taxes on people. There are many taxes that are imposed on different items that the public needs or already owns. The United States uses a tax system that many people criticize because they don't fully understand it. The system used is called a progressive tax. However, many people believe that the flat tax system should be the system used for taxation. The progressive tax system is the best system for the majority of society. Many people would like to believe that the flat tax is called that because it will flatten their finances. At least this is the expected conclusion. A flat tax system is “flat” because there is only one tax rate, while today's system has several rates (Sahadi). Everyone pays a certain tax rate (Foster). The flat tax system was typically proposed as a replacement for income tax, which is a progressive tax (Sahadi). A progressive tax is defined as “a tax the rate of which increases as the taxpayer's income increases” (“Progressive and Regressive Taxes”). In other words, tax is collected at a rate that increases as the amount of income increases. The progressive tax system manifests itself primarily in income taxes. Someone with a high income will pay more taxes than someone with a low income (“Progressive Tax System”). This tax system was created to collect a greater percentage of tax revenue from wealthy people, reflecting the “ability to pay” principle. Regardless of the tax system a company or country chooses, the government benefits. It must be said that both tax systems could be considered fair in their own way, both having their supporters...... middle of paper ......Dec. 2011. Network. 13 June 2012.due-tre>.Nunes, Glen. “Fixed Tax vs. Progressive Tax: Pros and Cons for the United States.” HubPages. HubPages, March 4. 2013. Web. 14 February 2014.Pros and cons for the United States>."Progressive and regressive taxes." Chuck Taylor. Charles L. Taylor, n.d. Web. February 14, 2014..“Progressive Tax System: A Brief Study of Its Pros and Cons.” Progressive tax system: a brief study of its pros and cons. Np, nd Web. June 13, 2012..Sahadi, Jeanne. “What is a flat tax?” CNNMoney. Cable News Network, October 24, 2011. Web. February 14. 2014. .