carlfense Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 We don't have a tax problem (not enough tax revenue) but a spending problem. That's not quite accurate. The massive Bush tax cuts turned an inherited surplus into a deficit. That said, it's an easily regurgitated Luntzian cliche. I suppose that explains the popularity . . . Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Why cant there just be a flat rate all across the board? 10%. 15%. 20%. it doesnt matter what you invest in. It doesnt matter what your assets are. It's doesnt matter how much you spend on day care. 15% (or whatever figure) of your paycheck is going to income tax. And guess what. Come April?-youre not gettin any back, and youre not payin any in. "Why should I have to pay as much taxes as that rich CEO?". Youre not. Your income is 34,000/yr. Youre paying (15%) 5100/yr in tax. That CEO making 5.6million is paying 840,000/yr. And that 1.2 million dollar bonus he received? He paid 180,000 in tax for that. Now, he can do whatever he wants with his remaining 5,780,000$ after taxes, and it's no one's business but his own. I have yet to be explained to or shown why such a system would not work. Close the loopholes, set a flat rate, and all should be well, right? More and more I am seeing that pushing for a full straight tax rate without any below poverty line adjustments is never going to happen, so I thought the proposal to start at 50k+ was a pretty easy solution and a good compromise for both side of the political spectrum. As BRB mentions, the us govt will have a fairly good idea of what taxes are going to come in, people will have a pretty good idea of how much they are going to make, and we don't have people not able to pay taxes on April 15th, because they will already have them taken out of every paycheck. The reason this will never happen is that the amount of the population below $50,000 is too low. Meaning, the voter base this would cater to is not enough and a politician pushing for it wouldn't be elected. The Dems were brilliant in their design of the tax increase for the top 1-2 percent. That gives them a voter base of 98% of the population that wouldn't be negatively affected by that proposal. The vast majority of Americans were hearing..." ahhh..haaa....Tax the other guy." I think every citizen should pay taxes. There should be a 'cost' for citizenship - to enjoy the rights of being a citizen in a free society. It gives them a vested interest & may prompt all to consider carefully how they vote. Completely disabled/dependant might be exempted. There should be at least some risk financially to voting and supporting more spending. I can see certain situations where I'm fine with someone not paying taxes. But, someone should always have some skin in the game if they want more benefits from the government. Link to comment
Junior Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 The notion that there is any "class" of citizen that doesn't pay taxes is bunk. EVERYONE pays taxes. State income taxes, payroll taxes, sales taxes, gasoline taxes, etc. No one gets away "tax free". http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/the_truth_about_taxes_just_about_everyone_pays_them/ 3 Link to comment
JJ Husker Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 The notion that there is any "class" of citizen that doesn't pay taxes is bunk. EVERYONE pays taxes. State income taxes, payroll taxes, sales taxes, gasoline taxes, etc. No one gets away "tax free". http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/the_truth_about_taxes_just_about_everyone_pays_them/ It may be true that everyone pays tax in some form but there is a rather large group that takes way more out of the system than they put into it. I think that is the "class" of people who are intended in the claim that some don't pay any tax. Link to comment
Junior Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 The notion that there is any "class" of citizen that doesn't pay taxes is bunk. EVERYONE pays taxes. State income taxes, payroll taxes, sales taxes, gasoline taxes, etc. No one gets away "tax free". http://www.hamiltonp...yone_pays_them/ It may be true that everyone pays tax in some form but there is a rather large group that takes way more out of the system than they put into it. I think that is the "class" of people who are intended in the claim that some don't pay any tax. I understand who the group of people being targeted are, but I'm making the point that the claim being made about them (that they pay no taxes) is a complete falsehood being propagated by folks like Luntz and Nordquist, as a means to stir ugly feelings in otherwise rational people in order to advance their politics. And it is being believed wholly by a large number of people who don't have an understanding of the American tax system. Link to comment
carlfense Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Relevant: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/04/u-s-tax-code-isnt-as-progressive-as-you-think/ 2 Link to comment
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