The result will be a tax form so simple it could be not much more than a postcard! 
And that could be freeing up as much as US$225 BILLION per year now spent on income tax compliance for other more productive economic activity.
Posted on 07/15/2011 4:03:09 PM PDT by NoLibZone
A term new to most Americans, "tax expenditures," is being bandied about in Washington as Congress and President Barack Obama discuss ways to bring the federal budget closer to balance. In many discussions it is used interchangeably with a more familiar word, "loopholes."
President Obama has been gaining a certain amount of political traction by urging elimination of many loopholes. He and liberals in Congress prefer to focus attention on tax breaks for big corporations and "the rich."
That last needs to be qualified by noting that under one of the president's proposals, families earning $250,000 or more a year would be deemed "rich" enough to pay higher taxes.
But the loophole debate should be of concern to tens of millions of Americans who earn less - sometimes much less - than that.
"Tax expenditures" are defined as, in effect, exemptions from regular tax codes. But the liberals are fully aware killing every tax break enjoyed by "the rich" and corporations would do virtually nothing to eliminate the spending deficit.
The real money is in other loopholes, or tax expenditures.
For example, $184 billion a year could be gained by killing a single tax expenditure. It is the provision whereby companies can allow employees to pay their shares of health insurance costs with "pre-tax" dollars. Of course, that would increase taxes for tens of millions of people.
Another big tax loophole is the income tax deduction for home mortgage interest, at $98 billion a year. That deduction has made it easier for many families to achieve the American dream of home ownership.
and end all forms of corporate and farm subsidies while we are at it.
No good reason why GE and GM get to pay no taxes
What would all the Lobbyists do? This could cause unemployment for Lobbyists and Tax accountants.
The result will be a tax form so simple it could be not much more than a postcard! And that could be freeing up as much as US$225 BILLION per year now spent on income tax compliance for other more productive economic activity.
Sales tax is the only fair tax available to guarantee everyone pays.
Agreed close all them all, they are nothing more than cronyism anyway.
Customers of GE and GM get lower prices with a zero tax bill. Once we “get them” , the price you pay will go up. I looked at my bank account and it is my customers that fund it. If they “get me”, I either cut back or charge more. Obama does not actually “get anybody” but living breathing citizens and their offspring.
Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!! Flat tax and move on. Of course, will never happen as there are SO many people who make millions and billions off of our ridiculous tax code.
Sales taxes are dependent on a consumer economy. We have to return to a producer based economy.
The fair tax would be a better deal
A “loophole”...
Mortgage Interest Deduction
Charitable contribution Deduction
or any other LEGAL activity, whereby the government tries to encourage certain behavior.
Do you suppose Obama would ever introduce TORT REFORM to limit the income of his sue happy trial lawyers and reduce the costs associated with DEFENSIVE MEDICINE?
Did you hear the guy who subbed for Rush today? a 500 M train to nowhere, and it is NEW spending. All these light rails are. All boon doggles too.
AMEN!!!!!!! 48% of Americans pay NO FEDERAL TAXES!!!! And a lot of them get MONEY BACK from US!!!! WE all need to haveskin in the game....FLAT TAX!!!!!
Why should GE and GM get preferential treatment instead of a level playing field for all companies? Why should GE get billions of taxdollars from the government?
Nonsense. What are regular tax codes?
The term 'loophole' implies some nefarious way around the tax code. That is not how the politicians are using the term; rather, they use it as a disguise for tax increases.
Of course you should have a level playing field, but the world is run by special interests. If anyone thinks they are going to make taxes simpler and straightforward, they should review the myriad of simplifications over the years. My bookshelf grows with each new simplification.
DEFUND all socialist collectives, foreign and domestic.
It would also kill off the third party pre-payment method of financing health care and restore a real free market in place of the current mess. The only health "insurance" people would want would be REAL insurance, high deductible, low cost insurance. They wouldn't want to pay third party overhead surcharges for routine care. And those increased taxes would fall disproportionately on union members, as they are more likely to have such benefits. I can live with this sort of 'tax hikes.' GO FLAT TAX!
I myself favor a modified version of FairTax of around 28%, where 75% of the revenue generated goes to the Federal government and 25% goes to the state at the point of purchase. That way, we could phase out the income tax (and possibly sales taxes) at the state level, which would at once put both local "brick and mortar" and online retail sales on equal terms in regards to competitiveness, in my opinion.
If electronic transfers were used, it'd be a hacker's field day (think fraud, identity theft, bank account access, etc.)
If you want a sales tax, get one, and just don't tax food, health care, primary housing, or home use energy in the first place, then no prebate is necessary.
But do away with the income tax, first.
The more people have, the more they'll spend, and the more revenue the government will collect in the end.
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