Posted on 09/20/2013 9:27:57 PM PDT by TexGrill
House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, who is expected to unveil his plan soon, is pushing forward with the idea of a tax code overhaul despite expectations that this Congress is too fractured to take on such a big project.
The provision, available only to the roughly one-third of federal taxpayers who itemize, allows taxpayers to deduct from their income the value of state and local property tax paid, as well as state and local income or sales tax paid.
Claimed by 46.6 million Americans in 2011, the deduction reduced U.S. tax revenues that year by an estimated $42 billion, making it one of the largest tax breaks in the code.
With lawmakers faced off across a deep partisan fiscal divide, Camp's determination to proceed reflects a personal conviction that the tax code badly needs work.
Future discussions on tax policy could begin with the plan Camp hatches and the lawmaker has said nothing is off-limits.
"Everything is on the table means everything is on the table," said Michelle Dimarob, a committee spokesperson.
Several bipartisan deficit-cutting panels have urged repeal of the deduction for state and local taxes paid, including the Simpson-Bowles commission appointed by President Barack Obama and Congress. "It is hard to go into (tax) reform and not go there," a top Senate Republican tax aide said.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
A republican plan will likely be revenue neutral in aggregate but be more simple and promote growth in the long run.
That is what tax simplification is all about.
Taking out the property tax deductions will hurt many homeowners. This strategy is not a winner.
Eliminate the income tax. Impose a nation retail sales tax.
It is a government subsidy, helps artificially inflate prices, and should be removed. It is housing welfare.
“Eliminate the income tax. Impose a nation retail sales tax.”
Would be a winner, but we’ll end up having both with this crowd.
Too many accountants, lawyers, clerks, you name it, making a living off of “assisting” Americans pay their taxes. It’d cause an instant depression.
Unless they are replacing income taxes with Foreign tariffs, which is how we raised revenue the first 140 yrs of our nation, there will not be any changes
I’ll take Foreign tariffs over a Progressive Income Tax anyday. I’ll take the tariffs of our forefathers than the Income Taxes of Marxists anyday
Flat Tax is still a Progressive Income Tax....the more you make, the more you’re taxed. Steve Forbes wants you to pay more taxes, not him
“The one for payment of state and local taxes tends to disproportionately benefit wealthy people in Democratic stronghold states. More than 30 percent of the total value of the deduction in 2011 was claimed by New Yorkers and Californians, according to congressional estimates.”
I'll gladly pay 15% of my income, no deductions, no tax shelters permitted for anybody.
Saves me money, plus I wouldn't need to go to an accountant every year, just sign one check.
A flat tax is fine with me. But here’s what will happen. They will take out the deductions to raise taxes and stop the flat tax when it comes for a vote. Congressman Camp is a damn fool for falling for this trick. He deserves retribution for his naivete acions.
Things should not be so damn complicated where you need and accountant or computer tax program to do your taxes.
Your income for the year, times a certain percentage, equals what you write a check for, that damn simple.
Cajun not proof reading again.
A progressive income tax punishes those who create wealth.
A huge improvement, shy of scrapping the entire effed up tax code entirely, is to make every citizen have to pay some federal income tax. This BS about 47% having no fed tax liability has to end. Like Obama says about health care — everyone should have some skin in the game.
That nearly half the population can vote for the pols who promise ever more spending and ever more programs with no cost to them, is destroying the Republic.
Frankly, the U.S. should be run like a corporation. Only shareholders should have the right to vote, the shareholders being only those who actually pay federal income taxes.
Absolutely.
But bear in mind, to eliminate the income tax, mere legislation is not sufficient.
You must amend the Constitution to forbid income taxation at all levels, national, state, local, and international (strictly enforced with nuclear weapons).
If I were king.... Flat federal sales tax rate of 10%. If they want more revenue, then they’d just have to figure out how enact policies/regs/whatever to raise the GDP and “grow” the pie to make that 10% slice bigger.
If they say “10% ain’t enough”, I’d say bull-butter!! They need to learn how to prioritize a budget and live within their means like the rest of us. Perhaps they cut aid to Burkina-Faso, or dissolve Dept of Ed. - I don’t care how, but it’s entirely do-able. They simply have to be forced to do it.
Um, tariffs were some, but much early revenue was raised by land sales.
This probably doesn’t have a chance but is a good idea.
He’s working toward lower overall rates and a simpler tax code, while taking away a major low-tax state to high-tax state subsidy that so softens the blow of increases in local taxes as to make them palatable to an unengaged electorate.
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