Jonathan Chait writes about the "Triumph of Taxophobia" over (here) at Democracy: A Journal of ideas.
There is one idea that explains Republican behavior [over a period of years]: moral disgust at income redistribution. * * * When Republican elected officials pay fealty to these ideas, it is usually through oblique references. They often bemoan the fact that nearly half of all taxpayers pay no income tax (which ignores the burdens of federal payroll taxes) or that the top 1 percent is paying a rising share of the tax burden (which is true, but only because the top 1 percent is earning a higher share of the income). The underlying sentiment is that the practice of levying higher tax rates upon the rich amounts to an oppressive form of discrimination—democracy as mob rule. Conservatism’s commitment to flattening the tax code, so inexplicable to those outside the movement, is an inviolable principle within. And the necessity of keeping the core reason secret only adds to its moral urgency—so oppressed are the rich that those who seek to relieve their oppression dare not even speak openly.
The article effectively places taxation at the center of an analysis of changes in the political landscape over the last few decades. It is a provocative and ambitious piece of writing — worth a read by those interested in politics, the economy and taxation.
Of course one reason such Conservative ideological rhetoric has proven popular with the masses is that it exploits a recalcitrant belief and desire in their heart of hearts, namely, that they, too, given the requisite motivation and opportunity, may one day become a member of the class of capitalists, that they too can become exemplars of conspicuous consumption, naked avarice, and unconscionable wealth accumulation. Only the oppressive burdens of taxation stand in their way.