progressive tax

A government's revenue-collecting system in which those in a higher-income bracket pay a higher percentage (as well as a higher amount of money) in taxes than do those in lower- income brackets. For example, a person with a taxable income of $20,000 would pay 10 percent of that amount in taxes, and a person with a taxable income of $100,000 would pay 30 percent of that amount in taxes. See also regressive tax.