Your entire premise is incorrect. Federal income tax is not the only taxes paid by people, and it is the only major tax in the US that is progressive. There are lots of examples of taxes you left off, but I'll list an easy 3: Payroll, Capital Gains and Social Security. To declare that "the rich pay the majority of taxes" while leaving out the word "federal" and the fact that federal income tax is only one of very many taxes is disengenuous at best.