Progressive can have two meanings in political discourse.
- In politics, it’s an alternative term for the modern sense of {liberal}.
- In tax policy, progressive taxes are taxes that are imposed such that the rate increases as the amount to be taxed increases. The most common form of a progressive tax is the income tax. In the U.S., the income tax rate increases from a low of 10 percent (on the first $7,500 of income) to a high of 35 percent (for income above $336,550).