Tax brackets jump too drastically for the middle class. 2013 tax brackets include:
8,925-36,250 15%
36,250-87,850 25%
87,850-183,250 28%
183,250-398,350 33% and so on...
At the low end there is a 10% hike over a narrow range of income, but at the high end there are only 3% hikes over much broader ranges of income. Someone that is only making 50k per year should not be taxed at over 30%, which is what we have to pay when state income tax is added on. When I realized my new, much larger tax bracket, I dropped hours at work (esp. at low income levels high tax kills a person's motivation to work harder).
We suggest something similar to the following, with more gradual brackets on the low end:
10,000-40,000 15%
40,000-90,000 20%
90,000-180,000 25%
180,000-350,000 30%
350,000+ 35%