I agree that governments tend to increase taxes more than they lower them. And yet, in 1958 the US had a tax rate of 81% that kicked in at 140,000 dollars (which in today's money is lower than France's 1 million euro threshold). And couples earning more than 400,000 dollars had a 91% marginal tax.

Edit: And during most of the 60s, the 70s and all the way up to 1981 the US had a 70 percent marginal tax rate which kicked in at much lower thresholds, even when adjusted for inflation: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftaxfoundatio...