Time to pay up!

Post #204,711 by dmcarls 4/25/05 10:22:50 AM Reply	Time to pay up! [link\|http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050424/tax_breaks.html\|http://biz.yahoo.com...4/tax_breaks.html] Presidential Commission Studying Tax Laws Concludes There Are Too Many Deductions and Credits "We have lost sight of the fact that the fundamental purpose of our tax system is to raise revenues to fund government," according to President Bush's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. The commission's chairman, former Florida Sen. Connie Mack, said its nine members have been surprised at the number of tax deductions and credits." All your dollars are belong to US.
Post #204,712 by Another Scott 4/25/05 10:30:33 AM Reply	Naah. The vast majority of the deductions out there don't benefit the average Joe. They benefit companies and people who are politically connected. Getting rid of the vast majority of deductions would be a Good Thing (TM) because the tax rates could be rationalized. People wouldn't have to send money to H&RBlock or Intuit to do their taxes. They wouldn't have to worry about finding $3k to throw into an IRA by April 15. They won't have to scrounge through their stuff to give a bunch of stuff to the Disabled American Veterans Thrift Store by December 31. They could go about their business trying to make things better for their families or their business based on whether it makes sense, rather than whether it'll reduce their taxes. I think a lot of people would even give up the mortgage interest deduction if the rest of the system were rationalized and made more transparent and equitable. I know I would. Of course, Congress won't give up its power to tinker with tax breaks so it's all sort-of moot anyway... Cheers, Scott.
Post #204,719 by JayMehaffey 4/25/05 10:48:04 AM Reply	They are right but The presidents commission is right, the US tax code has way to many obscure exceptions, rules and deductions. But when considering thir report, it must be remembered that Bush structred the commission such that the conclusion was largly forgone. Notice that they make almost no mention of tax breaks for companies, focusing on obscure but often very small tax breaks for individuals. Total reworking of the US tax code would be a better solution then removing a few specific tax breaks. But under any simple tax it would be much harder to obscure the fact that the US tax code effectivly taxes companies at a far lower rate then individuals. Mucking around with specific tax breaks lets them focus on increasing revenue from the middle and lower class, while letting companies and the rich of the hook. My personal belief is that a flat tax would be best solution. Something on the order 20% of income above some baseline. The baseline should be set so that the poorest 25% will pay none at all. Jay
Post #204,884 by inthane-chan 4/26/05 2:18:02 PM Reply	Flat deduction == cost of living in region. Do that, and you've got me. Make it a per state adjustment, set by census numbers. The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but "That's funny..." -Isaac Asimov
Post #204,889 by JayMehaffey 4/26/05 3:55:29 PM Reply	Rather make it as simple as possible Flat deduction == cost of living in region. Do that, and you've got me. Make it a per state adjustment, set by census numbers. I would rather the plan was as simple as possible. That is the real virture of the flat tax, making the whole tax plan so simple that it's hard to mess up, confuse or cheat. A cost of living by state could be workable. But you would have to be carefull about how cost of living is computed and organizing it on anything less then a state level would leave it open to abuse. Even organized at the state level I can see the rich moving their offical place of residence to be where the base line is the highest. I would rather see the base line set in a very simple manner at a national level such as take the average national income and the median national income, average the two and set the base line at half of that for the next year. Jay

Welcome to IWETHEY!