How about just putting in a flat tax without changing other elements, like adding VAT. Just set the rate accordingly.
The best thing about a flat tax is that everyone pays. Right now, there’s no skin off half of America’s teeth when new spending is introduced - as far as they’re concerned, someone else is paying for it.
The immediate change to the poor’s income can be ameliorated by charity, since higher taxed folks will now have more cash.
Perfect is the enemy of good.
By holding out for “perfect”, some more modest plans are overlooked or discarded before even a fair trial has been given to the concept.
But putting a leash on the IRS has an appeal almost impossible to resist.
The trick is for someone to put on that leash. Or maybe the IRS should be killed altogether, and only a direct assessment be paid into the Federal government by all parties for whom there is an interest.
Consumption tax or whatever, but keep away from layers and layers of obfuscation and hiding of taxes.
Just make sure they stop thinking about EXCEPTIONS or EXEMPTIONS to every tax plan.
Te democraps will be fighting themselves over who will promise the biggest increase in exemptions each election year.
Like the STUPID “FAIR”TAX (30% of everythign you buy???)
The ‘pre-bate’ is the biggest monstrosity of that stupid idea- every democrap on the planet will be promising ever-increasing ‘prebate’ every election.
Lower the stupid rate from 30%, STOP USING the insane ‘tax-inclusive’ calculation, and get rid of the pre-bate, and you’ve got something. A national sales tax of 10% across the board would be idea.
Along with a balanced budget amendment- they can ONLY spend what they take in, and any year there is a deficit then ALL members of congress become ineligible for re-election.
It has been shown that ALL of ther proposed tax plans, from Carter forward, have proven one thing.
Congress has never been taken to task to cut the spending, and here is why.
For all of my years in the military/government, each fiscal year has been balanced against the spending of the last quarter of the last year. Should all the year’s funding be exhausted, or have reached the edge of exhaustion, before the last quarter, the logic was to increase the next year’s funding, by the percentage near or over that exhaustion amount.
Saying that, any tax plan that is ‘pro-rated’ over time, to reduce the tax burden, in the light of the provided example, means no tax relief at all.
I suggest, (since the notion of doing away with the IRS has been made public last night), since the sitting president has set the precedent for the exercise of executive orders unchallenged, an executive order to order the cessation of the IRS, and release of all those employees of their contracts, in THAT agency, by deletion of their positions, thereby disallowing any federal R.I.F. procedures, within a 90- to 120-day window. The deletion of positions precludes any litigation to regain a previous employment status, since there is no ‘personnel slot’ to regain.
“Flat-Tax Plans: All Are Good, None Are Perfect “
And none will ever happen because too many politicians and crony capitolists are invested in the massive tax code. It provides both punishment and preference, depending on who is in control.
It isn’t going anywhere, nor is the IRS.
Promises of getting rid of them is just pie-in-the-sky pandering to a segment of the population. Pandering politicians have been promising reform every presidential election cycle at least since the 1970s.
Don’t care about tax rates, method of collection...any of that. Just eliminate all the loopholes! THAT’S how you start to attack crony capitalism, as practiced in Washington, DC
Flat Tax, YES! Kill the IRS and it’s thug intimidating agents. VAT, NO! That would kill high end products and the companies that make them. And a VAT can be raised by any Congress that determines they want more money.
A flat tax is still an income tax. It does nothing to resolve the politics of which groups are exempt & which are not. There is nothing to prevent exemptions, deductions, & loopholes from being added to the tax, probably the day after such a tax is implemented. The IRS will still be in the wallet of every person, business, & group. They can still take your home or business.
A sales tax eliminates all of the above.
Politicians are loathe to end the income tax because it is a major vehicle in the government control of individuals. It allows the government to spy on us all. The taxpayer is overwhelmingly disadvantaged in tax disputes with the government. The opportunity for partisan political tyranny at the IRS is now obvious.
I am disappointed in Ted Cruz for advocating for a continuation of the IRS tyranny with a flat income tax. Surely he must know that it will NOT abolish the IRS, but merely make their tax auditing easier, giving them more time to play politics with taxpayers, political & religious groups.
I will never support a flat tax, never, because it will keep increasing and the other taxes in spite of what they promise, will never go away and will increase too.
I haven’t read any comments yet but someone will say, “everybody will have skin in the game”
Pipe dream, it will never, ever happen. There will be some form of “E.I.T.C.” for the “poor”. Same with a V.A.T. The protected classes will always get back more than they pay in.
It would take an overwhelmingly conservative congress, president and Supreme Court to change those facts.