I get tired of hearing how unfair it is that the wealthy do not pay higher taxes. Especially when most of the people whining are amongst the 50% of americans that pay nothing in income tax (I underline because I am not say that 50% pay no taxes). Yes 49.5% of americans pay no income taxes, now how is that fair??
The Fair Solution
I heard this today on the radio (was an unable to find out who it was from sorry) of a 5 step way to make the taxes fair.
- Abolish the current code altogether. Thats right, burn it, flush it, just get rid of it. All 72, 536 pages of it! Interesting to note that it started out at only 400 pages in 1913.
- Determine a flat rate for all individuals and businesses. No deductions for this or credits for that, just plain and simple you pay a percentage of what you made. Government does not need to try and control what the people think and do buy creating loopholes if you do something they want. Thats all it is in the end, they want you to behave a certain way so they entice you with tax breaks.
- Same thing for corporations, a flat rate that they pay on their profits. Maybe then GE would actually pay an income tax?
- File your taxes on a postcard!
- Enjoy your new found time and money on your own pursuit of happiness.
What the Government does with the money
The other side of the equation is what the government does with the tax dollars. I think we can all agree that there is so much waste and programs that are not needed. Well Im sure we will argue over whats needed.
We need to get the government back to doing only what it is supposed to be doing. In my opinion it should only being doing things that benefit the nation as a whole. Military for one is one of the top priorities of a national government, the protection of its citizens. Locally that would of course mean police and fire as well. Infrastructure and roads such as the interstates and bridges. Honestly I cant think of much else 
The national department of education I think is a waste and should be handled on the local level. I think that our education systems were doing much better before that bureaucracy was put in place. I mean if we went through everything that our money is spent on and started trashing programs that dont benefit everyone Im sure we could right the budget quickly.
Lets just start off with redundant and over lapping programs. The GAO was tasked in 2010, unanimously I might add, to find such programs. They came back with reports in 2011 and 2012 with multiple duplicative programs and tax expenditures, and with reforms where to cut and combine that would save over 300 billion. So when it came time to vote and move forward you think we would get the same unanimous enthusiasm to save OUR tax dollars. Of course not, a dozen changed their minds and we are still wasting the money.
Its Your Money
Like I said before, if more americans actually cut a check for their taxes then maybe they would care a bit more on what it is spent on. Or even if more americans actually paid income taxes…
The spending is out of control folks and the only answer we hear is lets tax someone else. If the tax code was simpler we would save so much money in just the preparation and collection of taxes. Its the spending that really needs to be overhauled. We continue to spend on programs the government has no business being in and continues to add more. Currently the nation is borrowing approximately $0.42 out of every dollar we spend and are $15 trillion in debt and rising. This can not continue forever.
We are not allowed to run our budgets this way and those of us that have tried find out the trouble we run into eventually. Everyone in the personal finance world preaches budgeting and sticking with it (well most of us) I just ask that we hold our government to the same standards.
End of rant…
http://isaacbrocksociety.com/2012/02/12/what-is-the-real-size-of-the-u-s-federal-tax-code/
Image from the Sun Sentinel
Totally agree with the flat income tax! Just because someone has worked hard for their money, doesn't mean they should be taxed more. They'll naturally be paying more anyway. The UK is much the same in this regard. Here when you start earning over £35,000 your income tax doubles. So say you're earning £35,000 and you're offered a pay rise. You'd have to be offered £47,000 before you could get more 'take home money' than you would at £35,000. It's utterly ridiculous!
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