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Taxes
Monty
Rainey
9/27/2002
In 1776,
American workers worked the first two weeks of the year to pay taxes
to England. Our founding fathers found this taxation unjust to the
point of going to war with England to win our country’s
independence. Today, the average American family works until May 15th
to pay it’s tax obligations. Where is the outcry?
In 1997,
Democrat Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle said "I don't think
the American people are overtaxed." In 1997, Bill Clinton told
the people of Virginia, that they would be "selfish" to
favor a reduction in the Virginia car tax.
Republicans
attempted to pass a Constitutional Amendment in 1997 that would have
required a 3/5ths majority vote in both Houses of Congress in order to
run a deficit. To create a Constitutional Amendment, it must pass both
Houses of Congress with a 2/3 majority and 3/4 of the individual
States must ratify it. The Amendment was defeated primarily by
Democrats. N.J. Senator, Democrat Bob Toricelli promised voters in his
1995 campaign that he would vote for a Balanced Budget Amendment. He
voted against the Amendment and it failed to pass the Senate by one
vote.
In 1997,
the top 1% of income earners in this country paid 29% of the total
federal income taxes.
The top 10% of income earners paid 60% of the total federal income
taxes.
The top 20% of income earners paid 74% of the total federal income
taxes.
The bottom 50% of income earners paid 5% of the total federal income
taxes.
There have
been numerous proposals over the years in an effort to "fix"
the many problems with our current system of taxation. The "Flat
Tax" is a proposal by Republicans Dick Armey and Richard Shelby
to change the federal income tax to a single flat rate of 17%. Under
this proposal, a family of 4 with an income of $48,890 would pay
$2,990 in federal income taxes, as opposed to the $3,967 they would
pay under the current system (1998 figures)
Though I
see this system as a vast improvement on our current system, is it
really "fair" to all Americans? I can see only one system,
which would be truly fair to everyone and would also save the country
millions of dollars in government spending, and that is a national
sales tax or "consumption" tax.
Such a
system would effectively eliminate the entire IRS, as taxes would be
collected at the point of purchase. This would eliminate the need for
tax audits, filing, going after delinquent payments, etc.
Let us
take a look at what other things would be eliminated by a consumption
tax. Personal income tax, the corporate income tax, the estate (death)
tax, the gift tax, and the real estate tax and countless others. Did
you know, there are currently 18 different taxes applied when you buy
a pizza? There are 30 taxes on a gallon of gas amounting to 54% of the
final cost.
The
benefits of such a system would be enormous.
- All
citizens would pay a fair tax directly proportionate to their
income level. The more you make, the more you spend, and luxury
items, such as boats, private planes, etc, would have a higher
level of tax. Necessities, food items and consumables, would
have a lower level.
- People
would have a much greater incentive to invest their money, as
personal investments would not be considered as a purchase.
- As
previously stated, the IRS could be partially abolished and
greatly reduced overall.
- Tax
evasion would be eliminated. This would lift a huge burden off
of our court system and reduce our overall prison population.
- Illegal
aliens currently slip through the current system. Many even work
for cash only. This system would still collect anytime they made
a purchase in the US.
- Foreign
tourists and students would pay taxes whenever they came to the
US.
- Politicians
would be able to concentrate on other issues as taxation
programs currently take up a huge amount of time in Washington.
- Government
spending would be dictated more by the economy, giving our
government an added incentive to keep our economy strong.
- Rather
than imposing tariffs in imports, which serve to drive up
consumer prices, a slightly higher taxation rate on import items
would promote American products.
These are
just a few reasons to make such changes in our tax system. There are
many more. So my question to Congress is not a question of why, but
rather, why not?
Monty Rainey
Email montyrainey@juntosociety.com
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mrt 9/27/2002
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