What is the best way to tax people?

Goodness. I picked a doozy of a day to start this little project. Admittedly, politics and government are not my strongest area. In recent years I have started to pay more attention, read about things, and attend my local political caucuses but in no way do I consider myself an expert on this subject. Having said that, I do have some (very conflicted) thoughts on the matter.

I remember this topic came up with my dad when I was a kid. It must have been 6th grade because we held a mock election in our classroom and talked about a few of the issues. At that point I said that I felt the best way to tax a population was by flat percentage of income. Why must it vary? My dad supportively said that he'd vote for an approach like that and I was off to do whatever it was that my 6th grade self did to keep busy. It still sounds *ideal* to treat the entire population with complete equity, but after some life experience and one measely college macroeconomics class I now think it may not be that simple.

Rich people keep the world running. I swear they do. For 7 years I worked in luxury goods. I did not sell anything that people need and yet I was able to make a tolerable living even during slower economic years. If it hadn't been for rich people spending money I would not have had a job. After I realized that I wouldn't have a job, I started noticing all the other people who wouldn't have jobs. Looking at the spending of one client, I noticed how many lives were sustained. The guys who designed, assembled and sold the airplane purchased. The construction crew who built his new hangar. The art local art museum that received sizable donations and employed many local residents. The insurance appraiser and the housecleaners and the landscapers. The accountant and the car dealers and the local tailor who provided all his alterations. The impact of one persons spending is astronomical. If rich people quit spending their money our economy would fail and the rest of us would suffer.

Which brings me to my point, I don't know that a flat rate approach to taxes is the right way to go.  As much as people complain about tax write offs for the wealthy, the money spent to "earn" those write offs benefits society far more than the meager taxes that would be collected otherwise. The only problem is that while I don't think flat right is best, I have no other alternative to offer. It seems that in a light of fairness flat percentage is the only option with the write-off option available to all. But what do I know?