Tax Reformation Common Ground

This article by Mathew Yglesias is about the up and coming tax reform the Republican party is trying to promote and pass before the years end. It explains how this affects businesses, upper, middle, and lower classes of individuals to. It defines tax reform and gives examples of how it could affect everyone. It talks about what good can come from the proposed reform and describes the Senate ‘Byrd Rule” in somewhat generic terms for understanding. Throughout the article both sides are represented in what they want in the new reform bill and gives a brief list of what Republicans are trying to push through the Senate. It supplies a table of how much the government receives now and how the cuts effect certain programs. It gives a brief history

This week the reading by Frank in the Inequality Reader caught my attention. It talked about how the current tax system in the US is not conducive to helping society. It also mentions how an increase in taxes for the top earners would help not only the poor but also the rich. He also includes how the wealthy “have been made worse off, on balance, by recent tax cuts” (Frank 732). This reading made me think of the current GOP tax plan being signed and debated in congress.

The current tax legislation that needs reform are the tax rates for families, individuals, businesses, and investors. America needs tax reform because the current tax code prevents economic freedom and reduces the strength of the economy. The current tax base causes double taxation of investment and savings, which discourages the amount of investment in the society. Less investment reduces productivity growth, employment, and real wages. We need a constitutional tax reform that is followed by everyone to relieve the harm of the current tax system and to strengthen our economy. The reform is necessary because the strengthened economic growth would essentially improve the incomes of Americans and enhance economic opportunities.

In response to the need, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 was enabled. The reform was intended to be revenue neutral, but broaden the tax base previously held. Congress had depressed marginal rates, and concurrently got rid of tax shelters, tax preferences, and other opportunities for tax avoidance. It now seems what worked as great solution in the past is not working now, “The Tax Reform Act of 1986 has not proved a stable outcome: Congress has since narrowed the tax base and raised income tax rates. Internationalization of the economy raises the question of whether corporate income taxes can be relied upon as a stable source of revenues. Moreover, the tax system is also under continual reexamination because federal deficits of $300–$400 billion a year are now commonplace…” (Greatz, 2007, p.

“I love paying my income tax! This tax system is so easy to understand!” said no United States citizen, ever. No one has ever said this because it is highly unlikely that no one actually enjoys struggling with the complexity of the current income tax system in the United States. The concept of contributing to the good of the community, county, state, and nation through taxation is not new, nor is it generally opposed by American citizens. Most tax paying citizens do not take issue with paying for police and fire protection, roads, and national security with tax dollars. However, what they do take issue with is the fact that the current tax code is a complicated nightmare. It is a bureaucratic mess of rules, regulations, and perhaps even infringements upon personal rights. Because of the complexity of the current tax code, the United States should implement a flat tax system for personal and corporate income tax to ensure consistent and fair taxation and to render the tax code as more user-friendly.

According to vocabulary.com “Taxation refers to the practice of a government collecting money from its citizens to pay for public services”. Our country was practically founded because of differences on taxation. The Stamp Act, Townshend Revenue Act, and most famously the Tea Act of 1773, are a few examples given of the progressive start to the American Revolution. If we can fast forward to 1986, this is the year that President Reagan passed the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Needless to say, the main purpose of the Tax Reform Act was for simplicity. Simplicity in federal tax code than in the pervious generations of tax code, but since passed, I believe the Act has gone through several changes and has now made the federal tax codes a bit more complicated. An idea of the Fair Tax has come in to play as a new way to reform federal tax in the past 10 to 15 years to simplify current tax codes.

A successful tax reform plan is not easy to come by, and there has not been a successful plan developed since 1986 under the Reagan administration. The tax reform bill that was passed then has been slowly unraveling due to a different political

There is constant talk in Washington D.C. from legislators, members of both the Republican and Democratic parties, about changing current tax codes. Typically, Republicans argue for lowering taxes both on the personal income for all economic classes as well as corporate levels. On the other hand, Democrats traditionally push for increasing the tax burden, especially for the upper class and corporations.

There has always been a large amount of discussion on the topic of the federal income tax. Specifically, the discussions have revolved around how exactly the people should be taxed. There are several ways in which tax rates can be determined, and all of them have some form of a strong argument behind them. The flat tax is the best option as, by nature, it is the most fair. Tax rates are measured by percentages, and when taxes are collected by percentages, the wealthy are already paying more money than the poor. For example, if a flat tax rate of 20% is in place, and one person has an annual income of $150,000 while another person has an annual income of $40,000. The person who has the income of $150,000 is paying $30,000 in taxes while

A recent national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center on April 7, 2013 found that 56% of Americans have a negative reaction towards income taxes. For this reason, most presidential candidates of both the Republican and Democratic Party, such as Ben Carson, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, maintain a fixed position on the way they think the current tax code should change. With all the issues and criticism the current American tax code faces there is an ongoing debated on how it should be dealt with. This Paper will explore all four, of the previously stated candidates’ tax plans

Ever since the ratification of the 16th amendment to the United States Constitution, Americans have faced the burden of federal income taxes. Income taxes were first proposed as a better way of gathering revenue, as well as an effective measure to manipulate economic spending. However, the current tax code bears very little resemblance to the relatively simple codes that were originally written into law. Today’s tax laws have grown astonishingly complex and unequally distributes the burden of tax liabilities. Our country should confront the issues derived from the increasing complexity of the tax laws and equally distribute the obligations to each taxpayer.

Taxes are one of the many ways that American politicians display their greed. Many politicians believe that the greatest way to fix the country’s economy is by taxing the rich less and the middle class more. This does make sense in some way considering that

The current federal income tax system in the United States (U.S.) is progressive based on the vertical equity principle. However, the tax code is getting increasingly complex and the wealthy are able to avoid paying taxes through loopholes. Hence, more people are yearning for fairness in taxation. With the looming 2016 presidential election, Senator Rand Paul’s proposal of ‘Fair and Flat Tax’ appears to have the most significant change to the current tax policy and I will now analyze if this proposal will improve the efficiency and equity of the U.S. tax code.

The push for a tax reform continues to be a popular topic. Many people see the current structure as inequitable and complex. The new proposed tax structure that has been gaining attention is called the Fair Tax Act. It would institute a “national sales tax at a rate of 23%”if it were enacted. The idea is to make the tax structure more simplistic and spread out the tax burden. Another interesting proposed change relates to tax brackets. These brackets would no longer be needed to decide rates on taxable income. Investments will also be much different and potentially have a greater economic impact because the tax on capital gains and property will no longer be in existence. These are just a few of the changes that could occur with

Rich households have been paying too much in taxes these past years. “Earners in the top 1% pay about 43% of their incomes in tax. [While] people in the middle quintile pay 25%. [And] the poorest fifth pays 13%” (Barro). And yet some politicians, like Donald Trump, think the solution to resolving our country’s debt is by taxing the top percent more. In reality, the United States should have a flat tax rate due to the fact that it is the fairest plan and the hard work pertained by the top percent should be valued.