They did a really good job on ads. Don’t look up how much they spent just on fooling the population.
In inflation adjusted dollars, the tax applied a 1% income tax to incomes over $100k and a 7% tax to incomes over $16 million. Yes, it was originally intended only for the wealthy. The upper middle class paid a tiny nominal 1%. The only people paying any substantial income tax were the extremely wealthy.
I get it. You want to tax the rich, so do I. But you're letting that desire cloud your judgment and reason.