I would like to hear the pro's and con's RE : of a flat tax base instead of the current system we have.
598367
Flat Tax:  If there were a median flat tax with a standard deduction, it would have to be high enough to match the amount of money being made by the current system.  Middle class Americans and the working poor would not be able to afford the higher taxes imposed, because they would pay a higher percentage of their gross income.  Americans who make more money would pay a lower percentage of their gross income.  That's why there are different tax percentages for different incomes.  Each income bracket pays a different percentage, so that the majority of Americans will have enough money left over for their individual and family expenses.  Flat taxes are like "black and white" while the bracket system has more of a "gray area."  Certain deductions are for people who are married, or have families, or use daycare, business expenses etc. because we as a country need to take care of its people.  These people are putting money back into the system, so it's important to support them.\n\nTax cuts are supposed to stimulate economic growth by putting money in the pockets of Americans.  The government is hoping that its citizens will go out and spend the money (as opposed to banking it) so it will stir the economy and raise demand.  If that doesn't happen, it's basically considered a failure.  Most 'extra' money (it's hard to consider it extra when the country is 8 trillion + in debt) goes to the upkeep of roads, disaster relief, etc.  So it does go back to the people.  The only say people have in how it's spent is through the votes for our politicians.
297174
I think it would be a good idea.  It would certainly make it easier and quicker to lodge and it would catch all those tax cheats who cost the law-abiding citizens extra money.
1132548
Flat taxes never work.  a) They favor the rich b) Paying 35% on everything you purchase would theoretically work, except everyone would be INCREDIBLY pissed off.  Especially on big purchases on a house.  Nobody wants to pay $40,000 in sales tax on their house.  c) The Federal Government can't take in all the money and then redistribute it as it sees fit to the states.  Not only will it piss off every state in the union, but it also forces the states to reduce/eliminate taxation, otherwise people would have no money.  The only way the flat tax in this case would work, is if you reduced it to 10%, allowed the states to do a flat tax of up to 10% in addition, and then having a smaller graduated income tax.
411870
Sure I do. Income tax is usually geared to help the wealthy, the people in power. If government income was to come from sales tax alone, and on everything except food it would much more fair for the poor. The more you buy, the more taxes you pay, what could be more fair?
612066
Like the other person said, who would give if it was just voluntary? I agree more money needs to be spent on programs to help the homeless,needy,etc. Perhaps we should rethink the flat tax scenario.\n  But, is it fair to ask a person earning $35,000 a year or less to pay the same amount as a person who earns $1 mil??Perhaps we should redo the tax code..I mean..erase everything and start over.
671212
I do not like the current system that penalizes those who work harder and earn more.\n\nI am a proponent of the Flat Tax, where everyone who earns more than $20,000.00 per year gets taxed at exactly the same percentage rate. No loopholes. Keep the tax system simple. Reduce the size of the IRS, because a more simple tax system means there is not as much of a need for a huge government agency/beauracracy to oversee it.
929654
1.  Make it private\n2.  explore it\n3.  Flat tax is fair\n4.  Need it\n5.  keep improving them\n6.  stop it - fight there not here\n7.  We get screwed - fix that\n8.  don't give it much thought - have cars\n9.  Stop welfare and urban violence\n10. Support our Vets\n11.  END IT - every able bodied person should work - stop giving money to lazy girls who have babies just to get welfare.\n12.  Anti abortion\n\nREPUBLICAN - All 6 of us in this house!\n(actually 1 son is married and not living here but if you count his wife - it is 7 of us and our parents and brothers & sisters.  There are NO Democrats in our immediate families)
685614
Simple and profound!\n\nThe less taxes, the more gdp.\n\nCheck it out!
1153408
I would change the federal income tax system to a federal sales tax. This would eliminate the huge tax burden from the upper and middle classes and make honest tax payers out of every consumer in the country.
827347
The fairtax would not only improve my life, but the life of everyone.\n\nUnder this plan, I would not be punished for saving money or selling stocks for a profit.\n\nI am not sure why Steve thinks this would increase taxes on the poor, and give huge tax breaks to the rich.  This is simply not true.\n\nThis plan, like many national sales tax plans I have seen has a tax refund for all money spent up to the poverty level, which means the poor would pay nearly no taxes at all.  This plan would give an automatic $10,000 refund for a single person household, which increases for each additional person, meaning the poor would have at least an extra $10,000 a year of income.  If you are poor than you will not buy enough goods and services to surpass the $10,000+ yearly refund, so the net effect is more money in the pockets of the poor.  Remember a sales tax is a percentage of money spent on goods.  If the national sales tax is 23% and the refund is $10,000, a single person who pays $20,000 a year on goods and services, would have paid $4,600 in taxes.  However, under this plan he would receive a $10,000 refund yielding a net gain of $5,400 each year to either spend or save, and if he were to save it, he would not be taxed on the interest earned on the $5,400 savings.\n \nThe rich are the ones spending the most money, so they will pay the most under this tax plan. \n\nThis plan is the most fair, since if you do not want to pay any taxes then all you have to do is not buy anything and you won't pay any taxes!\n\nGreat Question!
317737
dear, bubba\n i most certainly do believe in a flat rate tax,the thousands put out of work in the irs would give me a simple joy to know that they have to feel yhe cold hard truth of a free market econ. as someone who is paying 11% of my gross income to taxes(more than dick cheney) i would love to see a flay rate that would treat us all as equals.\n\n but alas, this will never happpen. if you make the laws you will ,make them to protect or advocate yourself and you nor i will ever be in that position, but i'll keep up the hope\n&#92;\nmy vote is for pres. bubba
1103176
1.  A repeal of the estate tax ban (thanks for starting me out)\n    According to the CBO, the repeal of the estate tax will cost the Government $662 billion dollars over the next decade.  In addition, while the rate is as high as 46%, through various loopholes the average rate actually paid is closer to 18%.  It is also estimated that charities will lose between $25 - 30 Billion as a result of the taxes repeal, and states could lose an annual average of $9 billion in revenue.\n\n2.  Universal Health Care\n   I would institute a plan similar to Vermonts.  It allows self-employed, under-employed, or employed people who don't have benefits the right to pay 7% of their pay-checks into the same pool that provides insurance for Federal Employees and members of the House and Senate.  This would also link the benefits to our leaders and thus, any health benefit they give themselves, they have to give to millions of Americans.\n\n3.  Stricter Laws Regarding Ethics in House, Senate, White House\n    I would pass stronger laws regarding censure (for ethics violations) and forced resignation (for any legal violation above a traffic infraction).  I would also like the creation of a multi-partisan independent body to investigate ethics charges.  That body should make decisions completely independently of all houses.\n\n4.  Higher Education\n   I would eliminate all (guaranteed) student loan debt (see the Estate Tax above) and increase funding for Pell Grants so that it equals the annual average of tuition at Public Universities.  Erasing student loan debt would be a boost to the economy, allowing for a huge influx of money into the private economy.  This, to me, is a form of "tax cut" that reaches people who need it the most.\n\n5.  Energy & Environment\n    It is absolutely necessary that a true energy reform bill be passed.  The funding of research of alternative fuel sources is key to eliminating our dependence on foreign oil.  In addition, tax breaks need to be offered to corporations that reduce their pollutants to percentage levels below standard.  Heavy fines should be levied on corporations that cannot keep up with pollution standards.\n\nOkay, there's five.  10, with the wordiness of my decriptions is a bit much...\n\nADDITION:\nScorpion... In another question I said I'd never spit on anyone...  You're changing my mind.
531691
Offer tax incentives to "one parent at home" families. That way, more jobs would be created, and the tax that those with the new jobs paid - as opposed to the Social Security benefits they received - would counterbalance each other.\nPlus, there would be less crime caused by burglaries and latch-key kids. Children would be better supervised and receive proper meals, instead of junk food, resulting in less obesity and fewer associated health conditions.\nI am not a politician, yet it is so obvious.\nWhy don't you stand for council? Good luck!
516151
Actually, there has been just such a movement that gains momentum with each Congress called the Fair Tax, and it addresses many of the issues that some answerers here say are a problem such as unfair burdens on the poor, the theoretical increase in taxation and the decrease in growth it will cause. All are untrue.\n\nThe Fair Tax is an idea that was developed in Houston, Texas in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a response to a challenge to design a fairer, more simple tax code. In its simplest, most basic form, the Fair Tax is a consumption tax that is proposed to replace all federal taxes. It is designed to eliminate the income tax (and thus the IRS), marriage and death taxes, capital gains tax, etc.\n\nIn essence it proposes to implement what is basically a 21-23% consumption tax on new products. Because the consumption tax eliminates income and other taxes, if you make $15 an hour, you take home $15 per hour. You only pay taxes when you spend it.\n\nPrices on consumer products would not raise in price because there is an embedded tax of approximately 21% built into every product we buy today anyway. An embedded tax is the tax burden of the manufacturers, distributors, retailers, etc that they don't pay ... they pass the cost on to the consumer. The free market, within a year, would eliminate the embedded tax bringing prices down to where they are now.\n\nThis has actually happened in an airline ticket tax back in the 1990s. A particular tax (I forget which one) was eliminated by the government. At first, the airlines said, "Let's not lower the price of a ticket. That is that much more profit for us." Soon, however, the free market took over and airlines began lowering the prices to attract customers. Within a few months, all airlines had lowered their prices accordingly.\n\nThere are also provisions that basically amount to tax credits for low income families. While they would pay the tax at registers, the Fair Tax proposes to set up accounts into which a "refund" is deposited equal to the amount they would need to pay the tax on housing, food and utilities.\n\nThe economic boom this country would see as a result of the Fair Tax would make any other economic growth period in this country pale in comparison. As people begin to spend and invest the extra money they are taking home, the government's share would increase as more and more goods are bought. After a short while, the government is projected to have a surplus of funds.\n\nNow why should we switch to such a radical, untested tax policy such as a consumption tax? Well, it is neither radical nor untested. In fact, the seventh largest economy in the world uses it, and its citizens pay no income tax. The State of Texas has used a very similar tax system for decades. It is tried and true.\n\nComputer models of the Fair Tax have been run by conservative, moderate and liberal think tanks, and they have all come to the same basic conclusion. The Fair Tax would work and work beyond our wildest dreams.\n\nIt is a very interesting proposal that has been gaining support in Congress over the last few years. It is important that you let your Congressional and Executive branch leaders now that you support the Fair Tax.\n\nI have really not done the proposal justice, though. See the links below for the Fair Tax website, the Fair Tax book and how to find and contact Congressional and Executive branch leadership.\n\nSorry for such a long answer, but I am passionate about the Fair Tax! ;-) \n\nSource(s):\nhttp://www.fairtax.org/ - Fair Tax website
594288
First, I disagree with your postcard statement.  It is going to cost the government a lot of money to collect tax given the current way things are managed and the available resources.  Quite frankly, things are not 100% technically advanced which leads to reduced efficiencies.  However, e-filing continues to set records within the IRS helping to alleviate some of the cost.   Redesign to put forms in "postcard" form would cost far too much.\n\nAs far as flat tax, it depends.  If people could get used to it in simplistic form, then yes it might work.  The sad part is that Congress and others would then try to submit "exceptions to the rule" like, we shouldn't tax poor people, we shouldn't tax real estate, we shouldn't tax businesses who don't make money.  Very soon, we would be right back to the system which is in place.  What a lot of people don't realize is that they might pay as much or more with a flat tax system.\n\nThe current system is overly complex and could use a good simplification.
866808
It would probably be something like this. In conclusion i have no choice but to raise taxes.
89250
Read Neal Boortz's book "The Fair Tax".  \nThe fair tax gets rid of all federal income and payroll taxes and replaces it with a 23% consumption tax.  \n\nPeople get a prebate each month to cover taxes on the basic necessitys of life. \n\nYou get your whole check (gross) not just net.\n\nCorporate taxes presently account for 23% of an items price now.  That would disappear so you would be paying about the same for everything.\n\nAnd with no corporate taxes America would become the worlds biggest tax shelter.  Industries would be running over each other to set up shop in the US.\n\nCheck it out.\n\nMy 2 cents