By Tim Worstall, Contributor This is a fascinating little proposal in the WSJ from John Cochrane. Just as there is an Alternative Minimum Tax, to make sure that people cannot use all the tweaks to the tax code to end up paying an “unfair” amount, so also should there be an Alternative Maximum Tax. An amount, rate or portion of income above which someone cannot be taxed. This would, as with the current AMT, be cumulative, would include all of the various different taxes to which an income might be subjected: I like half, but the principle matters more than the number. Once the country settles on a number, each of us gets to add up everything we pay to government at every level: federal income taxes, yes, but also payroll (Social Security, Medicare, etc.) taxes, state, city and county taxes, estate taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes and unemployment insurance for nannies, household workers, or other employees, excise taxes, real-estate transfer taxes, and so on and on, right down to your vehicle stickers and those annoying extra taxes on your airline tickets.