FaithManor Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Consider this: If you live in this country you should pay taxes, regardless of how much you make, but I do believe they should be lowered by income...but not exempted... I agree with overhauling the tax system and I would start by eliminating the personal, progressive income tax on individuals and institute a national sales tax which would exempt food and medicine/first aid. My reason for this is that it gets everyone within our borders paying into the system. So yes, illegal immigrants may jump the borders and earn "cash under the table" thereby avoiding income taxes, but every article of clothing, every roll of toilet paper, every bottle of shampoo, etc. will be taxed so they will be paying into the system they so desperately want to be a apart of - and they are desperate people, not bad people, just desperate. It also is more equitable because the poorer you are the less you buy and therefore, the less tax you pay. The richer you are, the more you buy so you pay more in taxes, but it's a choice. If you were fundamentally against taxes, you can choose to consume less. It is all about choice. Currently, the American voter has very little to say about it because tax increases/decreases are not put to a national vote and our government is pretty corrupt! It also brings a level of fiscal accountability to the government that they've never been able to have. It's a little harder to predict spending than it is income. Everyone who is employed has taxes withheld and your income level is disclosed to the government. You never see the money first, they get it off the top without any real accountability for it. But, if it all comes to you first, and they make bonehead economic decisions that affect you, you can vote with your pocket book about how you feel concerning government spending by purchasing less. I think it is a much fairer system and it gets EVERYONE paying in...when people do not have to pay anything into the system, they are not invested in keeping that system healthy and I see that time and again with people who haven't paid in for a very long time...they don't vote, they are apathetic and that is NEVER good. Seeing that "federal income tax" on their receipt for garbage bags and underwear....well that's a constant reminder. I'd then keep corporate/business taxes at their current rates but eliminate an awful lot of Big business loopholes. Reasonable term limits, balanced budget, all tax adjustments being put to a national vote, making all gifts including that steak dinner Mr. Congress got at a $250.00 a plate dinner brought to you buy the Auto Insurance Lobby of America or whatever taxable at a very high rate might help as well. Campaign contributions should be taxed at a high rate for every penny over 1 million dollars. Something like 50%! Hopefully, that would help gain some control over our disastrous campaign/election process. But the politicians who benefit from the expensive campaign trail will never agree to it. The last thing I would do which would really help out the employment situtation in America and bring some of the manufacturing back here, is raise tariffs on imports and by imports I mean, "IF IT ISN'T MADE HERE, IT IS FOREIGN AND I DON'T CARE WHERE YOUR COMPANY KEEPS IT HEADQUARTERS!". So, if Mattel doesn't make that toy in America and brings it over from China then it's subject to import tariff, period. That car assembled in Brazil, that's foreign made and it doesn't matter if GM is on the sticker. We collect a RIDICULOUSLY low amount in tariffs and pay out A HUGE amount to other countries. NAFTA was a disaster and it's time to start rectifying that. Raising tariffs would raise literally 100's of billions of dollars or it would bring factories back here because it would no longer be cost effective to make it somewhere else and then ship it here. It will never happen. It sure would be a wonderful miracle if it ever did! Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Unless we see some really significant, systematic changes, the rich are going to keep getting richer, and the poor will keep getting poor, and the gap between the two will keep growing, as it has since Reagan. And so it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Faith -- where I live, toilet paper, shampoo, and clothing are already taxed. What I find gross is the use of the Northern Mariana Islands, and how companies bring people there to work, at awful wages (their min wage was $3 in 2007), and the items are considered American made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Faith -- where I live, toilet paper, shampoo, and clothing are already taxed. Faith is referring to a federal tax on sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Faith -- where I live, toilet paper, shampoo, and clothing are already taxed. What I find gross is the use of the Northern Mariana Islands, and how companies bring people there to work, at awful wages (their min wage was $3 in 2007), and the items are considered American made. Stripe, I understand that...it's state taxes. What I am talking about is the elimination of individual, personal tax and a national sales tax ( 2 -3%) so that all consumers are paying into the system and so that citizens can literally vote with their pocket book. It still means that those in higher incomes will pay more in taxes because they have the money to consume more, but it means everyone pays something into the system which means everyone has a vested interest in paying attention to what is going on in the system. Corporate income tax would still exist, but without the loopholes. Also, by not having tax through withholding, the government does not have guaranteed "x" income that it can predict because it is taken off the top before it ever gets to you. Nor will it have your money interest free and then return it to you in refund. There is more fiscal responsibility in such a system. Thanks, Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Maybe, but I worry that rich people don't buy that much more stuff than poor people, and that the tax rate ends up being very high for the poor. Some states don't tax clothes, or any items sold (there are 5 states w/ basically no sales tax), so my comment was not out of left field. Tax systems are really complicated and I think our tax code does a lot to encourage or discourage things such as home ownership, high mortgages, charitable donations, and marriage, via tax breaks and I am not sure that is easy to understand such a system! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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