Posted on 06/19/2024 8:13:57 AM PDT by spacejunkie2001
President Trump recently floated the idea of eliminating the federal income tax. That tax became a fixture in 1913 when Congress ratified the 16th Amendment. The first U.S. Tax Code was about 400 pages. Today, with everything included, it’s more than 70,000 pages! Initially, the income tax was 1% on all incomes above $3,000 ($95,000 in today’s dollars) and applied to only 3% of the population. Today, the graduated rates start at 10% for families earning more than $30,000 and go up to 37% for families earning above $609,000. The rates vary greatly: The top 1% of taxpayers pay 45% of all income taxes, the top 25% pay 89%, and the bottom 47% pay 0%.
Trump understands that the tax system is a yoke on the neck of American prosperity. According to the National Taxpayer’s Union, Americans spend approximately $260 billion a year complying with the federal Tax Code, most of which goes into the pockets of accountants and lawyers. And that doesn’t count the countless billions businesses spend adjusting their operations to reduce their tax burden in the first place.
Trump has floated the idea of replacing the income tax with tariffs on imports. That’s neither feasible nor a great idea, but the notion of scrapping the current system is a compelling one, particularly if it eliminates the IRS. There’s a great (albeit not perfect) replacement for our current system, one that would replace the current dysfunction and replace it with something that would give the American economy a much-needed jolt: The FairTax.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
with tariffs on imports. That’s neither feasible...
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LIAR !
It worked from 1790ish to 1913 .
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Evil politicians use the income tax code to reward, punish, and control. They’ll never give that up.
As much as I’d love to have The Fair Tax, it faces a steep uphill battle.
> It worked from 1790ish to 1913 . <
Right. I am very much in favor of tariffs. But they will cause unacceptable inflation unless they are paired with deregulation (along with tax breaks).
Tariffs will, of course, make imported goods more expensive. But if we set American businesses free, they should be able to undercut those imported goods. Every American wins.
Except for the regulators.
Everyone should pay tax. Maybe 1% to 100K tied to increased tariffs on Chinese products and 100% tariff on H1B and all non-citizen labor. Then, 5% to 250K, 10% to $1M, and 25% thereafter. No exemptions. Make it simple and put the whole tax preparer industry out of business.
Anyone who understand how the states have set up sales taxes KNOWS that with Congress in charge a national sales tax will have even more ifs, ands, and buts about it, including exclusions, to the point of making it as NOT “fair” as are most state sales taxes, which in fact are NOT single rates applied universally to every sales there is.
Like tarriffs there is nothing that will be “fair” about it, and as a sales tax it will be a regressive tax, meaning the portion of one’s income that through purchases will pay the tax increases the lower one’s income is and decreases the higher the income is, because the lower one’s income is the less one has income left over for savings, investments and other things that are not subject to the sales tax, and the higher one’s income is the larger is the portion of the income that is availble for things that are not subject to a sales tax.
I continue to press for a national universal one rate flat income tax with no deductions, no exclusions, no exemptions and no tax credits, regardless of source(s) of income. Just one univeral flat tax income everyone pays.
Friedman eloquently argued for a Flat Tax of 17%. Everyone paid the same rate; no brackets, no deductions, no exceptions. He took that stance because, under those circumstances, income tax has no impact on the allocation of resources. That is, expenditures and investment flow to their most productive uses. Now, because of the Tax Code, resources are allocated according to the after tax returns, which ends up subsidizing gov't-favored industries (e.g., electric vehicles).
I like the flat tax. After all, at the present time, 51% of the US population pay no income taxes. To me, if you pay no federal income taxes, you shouldn't be able to vote in federal elections. After all, no skin in the game, why should you have a say in how the money is spent?
boom and bust immediately followed, and the boom bust cycle has been sustained since 1913.
fedres failed. their charter should be revoked, force majeure against them should be declared and the private owners of the fedres bank should be sued for every penny they have accrued . jmho
Totally agree. See post #7.
I like the flat tax. After all, at the present time, 51% of the US population pay no income taxes.
Exactly why a flat tax will NEVER happen. In fact, I like the flat tax with NO REFUNDS beyond what was paid in. The IRS is now one big welfare agency IMO.
Are you willing to return to a Federal Government with the size, scope, power, and cost it had in 1913? Which of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Women Infants and Children, Department of Energy, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Homeland Security are you willing to do without? You want to restore a 1913 sized Federal Government? Eliminate ALL of those things.
I don’t mind a flat tax either but 17% is too much. Further, my understanding of the fair tax is that ALL the other taxes are stripped out of products in exchange for a ‘sales tax’ on items. It also doesn’t apply to used items as a tax has already been paid on it.
> I continue to press for a national universal one rate flat income tax… <
I am reluctantly against that. Everyone should pay something. Everyone should have some skin in the game.
Everyone should also feel the same amount of pain (for the lack of a better word). Here’s what I mean. Let’s say the universal flat rate is 10%. For some who makes a million dollars a year, 10% will hardly be missed. But for someone who makes $20,000, 10% will hurt.
I favor a simple, two-tier approach. Maybe something like 2% up to $25,000 and 10% above that.
Having paid income taxes throughout my working life, I’m not very enthusiastic about the prospect of paying increased sales taxes now that I’m retired and trying to live on a fixed income.
“I am very much in favor of tariffs.”
I’m very much in favor of a financially balanced motor vehicle trade system along the lines of the American/Canadian system of my youth.
China might provide $100 billion worth of motor vehicle stuff to the USA in exchange for $100 billion worth of motor vehicle stuff made in the USA. No dollars or yuan would leave either country.
I also believe all simple things for the US market should be made in the USA. We don’t need to be importing coffee cups or frying pans.
People need cheap stuff and the well-paid jobs enabling its privately funded purchasing.
I’ll take it! We’re currently a bloated welfare state. Quit taking SS out of our pay and then paying for all the other gifts for people
Bookmark
there will be no taxes on anything else, including capital gains. just items you buy and only new items, not used.
“That tax became a fixture in 1913 when Congress ratified the 16th Amendment. “
They wuz bought off.
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