"From a political perspective, the optional nature of the plan frees politicians from taking on the special interests directly. These special interest provisions will decrease in importance as people gravitate to the new simplified tax system."
agree, bttt :)
As I read down this thread, I am starting to get the idea that this is one of the favorite parts of this plan!
Why would the 47% who are paying nothing under the current system and even get free money refunded to them ever let it go in favor of a 20% tax rate ? The Perry plan might exempt $50K for a family of four, but it won’t give them money back in EITC and other refundable tax credits. So they won’t switch to it.
The top 1% of income earners have an effective tax rate of 17%. They’ll stick with the current tax code.
Warren Buffet pays barely 10% now, so he and others like him will stick to the old tax code where their cap gains and dividends are taxed at 15% rather than Perry’s 20% and their muni bonds are tax free.
Of course these uber wealthy people’s estates will choose the Perry plan in the year they die so they can avoid the 55% estate taxes.
Making a tax plan “optional” is stupid. Enshrining government favoritism for people who choose to have a big mortgage debt rather than owning their home is moronic. Giving a family of four a $50K exemption before they even start to pay taxes is idiotic — they can vote for bigger government knowing it’ll never cost them a dime.
So everyone who gets a net plus check from the government will select to remain in the current system, the rest will get out, so my 20 percent will continue to go to those who contribute nothing. So all my deductions are gone and the thing I resent the most about the tax code will continue, government theft for the parasite class.
The complexity of the tax code dose not end it simply gets shifted from the middle class to the parasite’s and the very rich who can afford the tax attorney to game the system. I’m sorry the tax code must be thrown out, period. Nothing less will suffice.
Perry is playing a political game of divide and conquer, I’m tired of that game.