In discussing one’s “tax rate”, it is important to first define terms.
If you mean your income tax paid in one year relative to income for that year, that is called your average tax rate. I believe that is what most of the posters are referring to here.
But if you mean your tax bracket–the tax you paid on your last dollar earned–that is the marginal tax rate. It is far more important in decision-making…whether to take on extra income or not, whether to invest in tax-free municipal bonds or not, etc.
In a progressive tax system like ours, where your rate goes up as income increases, marginal rates will always exceed average rates.
