Over 90% of federal revenues come from the individual income tax, the corporate income tax, and taxes on income that support Medicare and Social Security. Progressivity means the size of the tax relative to the taxpayer’s income rises with the taxpayer’s income, meaning the tax burden is relatively lower for lower income taxpayers. With an income tax, it’s easy to divide the taxpayer’s income into segments and tax each segment with a different rate. At the federal level, there’s been talk of eliminating the income tax and replacing it with revenues from tariffs and from a broader federal sales tax. In North Carolina, there’s been a gradual reduction in the State income tax rate, thereby shifting more dependence for revenues to the State sales tax.