Richard Gordon's Page

The Silent Tax Revolt
“There is another, perhaps more serious restraint on the fiscal state. Once government take, especially if collected through taxes, exceeds a certain percentage of gross national product or gross personal income – the figure seems to be around 35-40* percent or so – a silent but highly effective “tax revolt” starts. People stop working; what is the point if the additional income is being taxed away: worse yet, people begin to cheat.”
-- Peter Drucker, The New Realities, 1989

*I personally think that’s way too high. Russia had a tremendous budget deficit while taxing its people 80-percent. They considered an approach that the Libertarians in the USA were advocating. Russia went with a 13% flat tax and within a year they witnessed the largest government intake they’d ever seen – a surplus budget – beyond their wildest dreams.