Tax facts

Washington Times ^ | 4-18-07 | Bruce Bartlett

[JZelle]

Just in time for tax filing season, the Tax Foundation and Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation have compiled some useful facts about the federal tax system. Following are a few worth thinking about as taxpayers write their annual checks to Uncle Sam.

c In 2005, the federal government took $2.4 trillion out of the pockets of the American people. To put this number into context, it is about the same as the size of the entire U.S. economy in 1959 in inflation-adjusted terms. Only two other countries on Earth have economies as large as our federal government: Germany and Japan -- and Germany just barely makes the cut, with a gross domestic product of $2.7 trillion. China, which everyone is so alarmed about, has an economy significantly smaller than the federal government, with a GDP of $1.9 trillion -- about equal to what the U.S. raises just from taxes on individuals.

[JZelle]

So, Democrats really have a gun to their heads -- they must do something on the AMT by year's end. But because they have pledged to pay for all tax cuts, they must therefore raise taxes somehow to pay for an AMT fix. Republicans aren't likely to offer much help in that area, making tax policy in 2007 an interesting spectator sport.

[DonaldC]

I wonder what the economic impact, unemployment rate, etc would be if the irs were abolished? Or any other major government agency for that matter.

[Hostage]

Government will always need a tax collector.

Better to abolish the income tax.

Bring the income tax out of the back accounting office and up front to the cash register where it is renamed as the NRST (National Retail Sales Tax).

Here’s the film that will open your eyes:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4312730277175242198

After abolishing the income tax the next step or concurrent step is to abolish the ‘Federal’ Reserve (no more federal than Federal Express). It sounds radical but it’s not. Their functions would easily be brought under Treasury as a division of monetary policy. The effect would be to wipe out interest on the debt and to begin paying the debt down. America became a debtor nation only 17 year ago.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040510/greider

[lilylangtree]

Explains why I don’t trust the govt to do anything. Anytime the govt gets involved with anything the whole situation gets screwed up. Now with the RATS in the majority with the antics of Reid and Pelosi, I trust the govt even less if that is at all possible.

[Responsibility2nd]

Live it. Learn it. Love it.

http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer

[AmericaUnited]

the ‘Federal’ Reserve

It really does boggle the mind when one considers the fact that the big member banks of this nation decide monetary policy, which decides just about everything.

[Trinity5]

Bump for later print out to show idiot liberals...

[sergeantdave]

I’m in day #6 doing my federal tribute tax.

Any person who backs this fascist, neo-communist theft of productive citizens should be hanged, and then drawn and quartered.

The treatment of entrepreneurs is beyond wrong and should be treated as criminal financial rape.

We don’t have government in this country, we have a criminal fascist syndicate occupying Washington.

If the Sons of Liberty were still around, the Jefferson memorial would look like a necklace with a thousand thieving politcians hanging from the apex. And about 10,000 bureaucrats would be walking around, picking out tar and feathers from their mouths, noses and ears.

[JZelle]

Best of luck with that!

[Sam Cree]

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