Your neighbour gets made redundant and buys an expensive sports car with the money he receives meanwhile you're some hotshot lawyer who happens to have just had a raise at work putting you into a higher tax bracket. A few weeks later a gas leak blows up your neighbours house taking the brand new sports car with it. The insurance is void because he fitted some of the pipes himself thus causing this disaster. Your neighbour tries to claim benefits so that he can feed himself meaning some of the money you earn will be given to this man from the taxes you pay. Now, you had tried warning him multiple times in the past saying that its silly to invest all of your money into depreciating assets, but he shrugged it off. So you think he shouldn't receive any of your tax money in his benefits due to his mistake?
Ah, but you think there should be a flat tax for citizens anyway so you don't really believe the prosperous should pay a higher percentage of their earnings. So there's clearly no point in us discussing this point. However I will say that this 'average british taxpayer' you keep bringing up will agree with me that the wealthy should pay more than the poor and it makes sense for this to function in the same way, Which is exactly the same in America. The Tax % States pay is reflective of their economic health.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal...venue_by_state