In living (for some), 80%+ tax rates have been used and tax was very high for about 5 decades:
- the top marginal rate of tax was 62% in 1932 (up from 25% in 1931)
- rising to 91% in 1963 (income over $200k)
- It was at 70% in 1981 (before dropping to 50% in 1982)
and a graph here: http://visualizingeconomics.com/blog/2010/02/04/historical-m...
Though I can find very little that talks about the affects of this taxation on society.