UNCLE SAM’S SHAKEDOWN …
It’s that time of year again … when our least favorite Uncle (Sam) pays us a visit to take anywhere between 15-40 percent of our income (depending on how much we made last year).
The irony? Government takes its cut from us before we’ve even finished earning it … as “Tax Freedom Day,” i.e. the day when the average American has worked enough to pay off his or her “debt,” doesn’t fall until April 21 this year. That’s three full days later than it was last year – a nod to the sluggishness of the so-called “recovery.”
Of all the issues this website champions, individual income relief is by far the most important.
Why? Because the income tax is a drain on national and state economies – directly stifling consumerism and job creation. Doing away with it would unleash a wave of entrepreneurship, employment and economic activity – specifically among small and medium-sized businesses.
It would also end the increasingly corrupt, increasingly costly Internal Revenue Service.
So … what would replace all the lost revenue?
Good question. First of all, we don’t buy into the premise that “lost” income needs to be replaced. Our $4 trillion government is a monument to excess – and a good first step in providing tax relief would be stopping needless expansion in its tracks (rather than ballooning government to $5 trillion a year over the course of the next ten years, as the “Republican” budget plan proposes).
Beyond that, there are literally hundreds of billions of dollars worth of spending that ought to be cut – foreign aid, corporate welfare, entitlements, social programs, superfluous bureaucracies, military duplication, etc.
To the extent a portion of revenue needed to be replaced on a short-term basis (for the purpose of debt repayment), we would recommend a limited consumption-based tax – one imposed without market-distorting exemptions or special interest carve outs.
Such a limited, impartially imposed consumption-based tax would achieve temporal neutrality in regards to the natural allocation of resources – replacing our current command-driven structure with a true free market.
U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Oklahoma) introduced legislation last year to do away with the Sixteenth Amendment – and abolish the IRS. His bill doesn’t specify a specific consumption-based replacement, but would provide for a two-year transitionary period during which the specifics of the new tax system could be developed.
We support Rep. Bridenstine’s proposal – as should any federal lawmaker who is serious about tax reform.
29 comments
WHAT! TOMORROW!!! #*&%#
Do they accept BitCoins?
They just ruled Bitcoins are property, so while they won’t accept them you are expected to pay tax on any realized gain if you hold them. That also includes purchasing things with them if you realized the gain before hand.
Amazing that with the levels of national debt we have, people are calling for severe revenue cuts that will require a shitload of budget cuts just to remain deficit neutral, let alone eliminate the deficit, let alone make sizable payments on our debt.
Of course, what gets cut when you are facing extreme shortfalls? Everything has to be cut!!! (Except for crony capitalist bullshit of course.)
Government so small the rich can carry it around with them like a toy poodle. Take your crumbs, plebes, you’ll still pay taxes, just indirectly, and you’ll get even less out of govt for it!
“require a shitload of budget cuts just to remain deficit neutral”
There is no way to remain deficit neutral.
Maybe the expectation that you should get anything out of govt is part of the problem.
The rich have already bought and own the government. Growing the government only gives them more power. The food stamp and social security populations are getting the crumbs you speak of- fewer and fewer crumbs as inflation outpaces the COLA. This is why fiscal liberals are idiots, naively serving 1 percenters’ interests and making everyone poorer for it.
Yeh and the fiscal conservatives answer of giving more and bigger tax cuts to the rich will solve everything,right?Nice try Republican ,no cigar.Come up with something better next time.
We gotta pay for that Iraq War somehow.
Koch brothers could do that, ditto Soros, for all the dog wagging that keeps eyes off his maniupulations
Patrick Healy approves
How ’bout taking a Mulligan on the Bush I, Clinton I, Bush II, and Obama Administrations.
Do we really deserve a Clinton II or a Bush III administration? Why? Why do we elect the lowest elements of our society into positions of authority?
If you really want to cut taxes, increase income, then cut establishment politicians on both sides of the aisle on the June 10 primary and the November 4, 2014 general election.
My guess is you will be pulling the straight party Republican leaver as usual.
Speaking of “consumption tax”, did everyone fill out Line 26 — Use Tax — on your SC1040?
It’s not enough that you have to have your nose in other people’s trees, but you have to make sure everyone is “paying their fair share” too right?
“Taxes in the United States are extremely low by international standards. How low? Really low. We’re near the bottom of comparable countries. ”
http://prospect.org/article/three-cheers-taxes
Not low enough.
http://whatistaxed.com/other_taxes.htm
Its never low enough for the Koch Brothers and the rest of the people who own 70% of the wealth in this country. They don’t think they should have to pay anything. Why do you think the Bush tax cuts to capital gains and dividends did not apply to earnings in IRAs and 401Ks? It could easily have been. Because middle income America earns 95% of their capital gains and dividends in IRAs and 401ks. We could not let them get a tax cut, it would not leave anything for “Bush’s constituents,” who earn 90% of the capital gains and dividends not earned inside of IRAs and 401Ks, and those probably make up about 70% of total capital gains and dividends earned in the entire country.
The very rich understand this. The tea partiers and grass roots Republicans are just dupes they have lied to.
Ahhh, taxes. Here is some good news for the Lexington county folks and some not good news for Richland county folks;
Lex added approx 18k people and $732mm in Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
Rich added approx 9k people but LOST $1.2mm in AGI
These figures are for the period 1992 through 2010.
People with money and income are moving to Lexington while people without money and income are moving to Richland county. There is a net migration of people with money leaving Richland county while people without or with substantially lower incomes moving in. Richland county will be raising taxes to pay for the added amount of services for the increased population because they won’t be able to get the money from the increased population.
Lexington county will be raising taxes because the voters WON’T stop the bastards from raising them. All figures are from a great website I found on twitter;
http://www.howmoneywalks.com/irs-tax-migration/
When a man either doesn’t understand or intentionally misrepresents the difference between marginal and effective tax rates it is hard to take his thoughts on taxation seriously.
So a “limited consumption based tax” is your answer? Do you understand the term “regressive tax”?
I read it as “sales” tax but that does tend to piss off the folks that push it.
“ITS NOT A SALES TAX, DAMMIT”, right up there with Santa Clause, Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy.
April 15th…class warfare day. Everybody should have skin in the game but some don’t.
nearly half don’t
That is nonsense. Everyone pays taxes, just not income taxes. They pay property taxes, they pay sales taxes, they pay gas taxes, they pay tobacco taxes, they pay liquor taxes, they pay social security taxes and self employment taxes. Even if they are renters, their rent is higher so that the property owner can pay property taxes. When added together, most low to middle income folks pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the Kochs.
Remember Romney did not want to show his tax returns because we would see what a small percentage of his total income he actually pays out in taxes. I believe the estimate was somewhere around 13%.
Tom were talking April 15th the day income taxes are due and some don’t pay. Like I said class warfare and you proved my point.
Since we all pay consumption taxes and fees, everyone pay the same percentage for income and eliminate all deductions, no more class warfare but then your talking point would be lost.d
$17.5 trillion, now that’s what I call nonsense.
FAIR Tax and Flat Tax both still are viable options, though Obama still wants Dhimmis to pay up the Islamic taxes on folks what don’t think like him or march in lock step.
We should call it… keep America great day.
lol, good one!
I just realized that I work for the government over half the year just in INCOME TAXES. 39.6%+3.8% Obamacare+ 2.0% Pep and Pease+7% south carolina taxes equals 52.4%. That does not count sales tax, property tax, gas tax, and etc. This is crazy. We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. Hell, the Fed’s take in 3 TRILLION a year. Are you telling me 3 Trillion is not enough for an economy that has a GDP of 17 Trillion or so? Just insane.