Simplifying the federal tax code

[Lithium381]

Simplifying the tax code would make it MUCH easier for the average american to do their own taxes. It would reduce how much money is sunk into preparing them for the citizens, and processing them on the side of the IRS. It's not an insignificant part of our spending.

It would also make fewer places for the "rich" to hide and manipulate their income. Maybe a postcard tax return is a pipe dream but we NEED something less convoluted.

A lot of deductions are designed to implore us to take certain actions in order to gain some sort of benefit, or implore us to NOT do certain things. Getting married used to be one of those things. By getting married we would confer a tax benefit. Have kids? Tax benefit. Own a home? You get to deduct the mortgage interest = benefit. Maybe we could limit the deductions list to 100 items that would benefit MOST americans, not the 1% and their yacht deductions. . . .


I am generally against a flat tax or a fair tax because it tends to be regressive, I think our tax brackets could use some tweaking but it's overall a better system than flat.

 

[Craig234]

Yup. The danger is that any change has the oppostunity for shifting it in the interests of certain groups unfairly.

'Simplify' is just the sort of sales pitch that will get a lot of supporters where those people can sneak in their agenda, like the 'flat tax' we agree is terrible.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

What's wrong with a flat tax?

 

[Dr. Zaus]

What's wrong with a flat tax?

Because someone limping by with a family of 4 and 15k/y $3k is a HELL of a tax to pay; but for someone with the same family bringing home 150k 30k is fairly low in comparison to their ability (and in comparison to what the government has done for them in setting up a society in which they could enrich themselves)


I support a sales tax that is accompanied with a pre-bate for every-household equal to the taxes paid if every dime at the poverty-level was spent. If we up this pre-bate to the point that it would bring everyone TO the poverty-line, then we could eliminate many social services as we would have, by definition, eliminated poverty.

This would mean that you could be a tax-free billionaire if you lived at the level of a pauper and invested the rest; thus making non-tax-paying rich folk literally job creators.

BTW, sales-tax is much more efficient than income tax and no individual would need to file taxes again! (goodbye IRS!)

 

[Craig234]

What's wrong with a flat tax?

The bottom line is who pays how much. There's a reason for a progressive income tax, reasons going back to when the income tax was created a century ago.

In short, not having a progressive income tax would result in wealth concentrating into fewer hands even more and faster than it has leading to plutocracy.

And 'you can have a very high concentration of wealth or democracy, but not both'.

 

[Lithium381]

Yup. The danger is that any change has the oppostunity for shifting it in the interests of certain groups unfairly.

'Simplify' is just the sort of sales pitch that will get a lot of supporters where those people can sneak in their agenda, like the 'flat tax' we agree is terrible.

You're the one who changed my mind about flat tax vs progressive and its merits.

Well, if it truly is simple, it will be very transparent what items are there and what agenda was attempted. But if it can't apply to 25% or more of taxpayers, then maybe it shouldn't be considered. That way no small group of "evil" 1%ers can't have something carved out for themselves.

It really is an overly burdensome task every April to have the masses think about deductions and withholdings... I think maybe it's so complicated that people just would rather NOT think about it. If it's simple and everyone can understand it even at a high-school level, then we'd be much better off in terms of populace knowledge of our personal income tax system.... better informed.

 

[herm0016]

I am also an advocate of a simple tax system. Get rid of most of the so called loopholes and deductions. lower all the rates. keep a tiered system like we have now. realistically, I think we could make the tax code 100 pages. We would reduce the cost to people and businesses that they pay for tax prep, and reduce the burden on the government to keep track of and enforce all of the tax code. how much do we spend on the IRS every year?