It's not possible to pay a 60% marginal rate in the US unless you're paying tax penalties for previous underpayments of taxes. CA and NY have the highest tax burdens, and the highest marginal rate you could theoretically get is only 55%.
39.6% federal rate plus the 13.3% CA state rate + 0.9% high-income Medicare tax = 53.8% rate on non-investment income. Since we're talking about marginal rates, you wouldn't include the FICA or payroll taxes, as these are capped at lower thresholds than the marginal rates. (The exception is the 0.9% high-income Medicare tax, which only applies to the highest bracket.) But since federal taxable income excludes state taxes, you can't actually combine the state and federal marginal rates; you get a meaningless number.
Investment income is subject to lower rates. The federal rates vary from 0-28% depending on the type of investment and the tax bracket of the taxpayer. For example, lowest-bracket taxpayers have a 0% rate on investment income; highest-bracket taxpayers have a 20% rate on dividends and capital gains and pay 28% for income on collectibles.
39.6% federal rate plus the 13.3% CA state rate + 0.9% high-income Medicare tax = 53.8% rate on non-investment income. Since we're talking about marginal rates, you wouldn't include the FICA or payroll taxes, as these are capped at lower thresholds than the marginal rates. (The exception is the 0.9% high-income Medicare tax, which only applies to the highest bracket.) But since federal taxable income excludes state taxes, you can't actually combine the state and federal marginal rates; you get a meaningless number.
Investment income is subject to lower rates. The federal rates vary from 0-28% depending on the type of investment and the tax bracket of the taxpayer. For example, lowest-bracket taxpayers have a 0% rate on investment income; highest-bracket taxpayers have a 20% rate on dividends and capital gains and pay 28% for income on collectibles.