The Tax Code

[Valrez]

With talks about taxes it make me bring up the question: "Is our tax code a good one?"

Personally I wish we could have a simple flat tax at around 8-14%

But what do you believe should be the future of our tax system?

[Aeronos]

Well, making the tax code simple enough that people can do their own taxes rather than having to pay people to do them for them would be a good start to any sort of reform...

[Nansurium]

Our tax code sucks...

We should have a FairTax.

[Trotskylvania]

Taxation is an irrelevant issue in a planned economy, so I'm ambivalent.

In the near term, abolish all sales taxes, and payroll taxes. Replace property taxes with a combination of a Georgist land-value tax and a mild, progressive (.5% to 1% at the very most) capital tax, and make up the bulk of tax receipts from progressive corporate and individual income taxes, with heavy tax incentives given to worker or otherwise publicly owned collectives.

[Nansurium]

Your economy would be a train wreck!

[AlexJacobii]

With talks about taxes it make me bring up the question: "Is our tax code a good one?"

Personally I wish we could have a simple flat tax at around 8-14%

But what do you believe should be the future of our tax system?

A flat tax would favour the rich a bit, unless you are thinking of a sliding scale in which the percentage increases at certain ranges of income. The future of our system should be a sliding scale type tax, for those that are students or making under 10k then they pay 5%. Part-time (11-24k) work would be 7%. Full time (25-50k) would be 9%. Then there would be additional rates for those above 50k a year of course. Churches and non-profits would be exempt however preachers and such would be required to pay taxes.

[Farnhamia]

With talks about taxes it make me bring up the question: "Is our tax code a good one?"

Personally I wish we could have a simple flat tax at around 8-14%

But what do you believe should be the future of our tax system?

A flat tax would favour the rich a bit, unless you are thinking of a sliding scale in which the percentage increases at certain ranges of income. The future of our system should be a sliding scale type tax, for those that are students or making under 10k then they pay 5%. Part-time (11-24k) work would be 7%. Full time (25-50k) would be 9%. Then there would be additional rates for those above 50k a year of course. Churches and non-profits would be exempt however preachers and such would be required to pay taxes.

You've just described the progressive income tax system we more or less have in the US now, just with different rates.

[Terra Agora]

Taxation is an irrelevant issue in a planned economy, so I'm ambivalent.

In the near term, abolish all sales taxes, and payroll taxes. Replace property taxes with a combination of a Georgist land-value tax and a mild, progressive (.5% to 1% at the very most) capital tax, and make up the bulk of tax receipts from progressive corporate and individual income taxes, with heavy tax incentives given to worker or otherwise publicly owned collectives.

How does one determine the value of land?

[Nansurium]

On the left side is the IRS tax code as of 2007. On the right side is the Fair Tax act of the same year.

[AlexJacobii]

A flat tax would favour the rich a bit, unless you are thinking of a sliding scale in which the percentage increases at certain ranges of income. The future of our system should be a sliding scale type tax, for those that are students or making under 10k then they pay 5%. Part-time (11-24k) work would be 7%. Full time (25-50k) would be 9%. Then there would be additional rates for those above 50k a year of course. Churches and non-profits would be exempt however preachers and such would be required to pay taxes.

You've just described the progressive income tax system we more or less have in the US now, just with different rates.

Yes, however there would be no breaks. Just a standard flat rate. No deductions, no breaks. Easy to do your own taxes as long as you have a W-2 or such and a calculator.

[Wolfmanne]

Not really that sure to be honest.

[Farnhamia]

(Image)

On the left side is the IRS tax code as of 2007. On the right side is the Fair Tax act of the same year.

The guy on the right is taller.

So what? Laws are complicated. The worth of a law or a set of laws is not measured by weight or height. If we removed a lot of the corporate and individual tax loopholes, we could increase revenue and simplify the code.

[Sibirsky]

(Image)

On the left side is the IRS tax code as of 2007. On the right side is the Fair Tax act of the same year.

The guy on the right is taller.

So what? Laws are complicated. The worth of a law or a set of laws is not measured by weight or height. If we removed a lot of the corporate and individual tax loopholes, we could increase revenue and simplify the code.

The federal income tax code is time-consuming, confusing and baffling for many Americans. The code itself now consists of 3.4 million words and if printed would fill 7,500 pages and regulations together were 66,498 pages long in 2006. The taxpayer’s 1040 instructions are 161 pages long. Americans spent 6.4 Billion hours filing their taxes in 2006.

America’s “Tax Army” employs more people (1.2 million) than we have armed forces stationed in the United States (0.9 million). Collecting taxes is a completely non-value added task, adding nothing to our economy. Some of our brightest minds – lawyers, accountants, and computer experts – pound away at keyboards trying to figure out either how to plunder more money from others or find loops in the tax code to “save costs” for their clients. The total cost of collecting taxes is estimated at $63 billion, ironically just $4 Billion short of funding general government and law enforcement! The IRS employs 91,000 and will spend $11.6 Billion in 2009 collecting taxes.

It's wasteful and stupid.

[Sibirsky]

Taxation is an irrelevant issue in a planned economy, so I'm ambivalent.

In the near term, abolish all sales taxes, and payroll taxes. Replace property taxes with a combination of a Georgist land-value tax and a mild, progressive (.5% to 1% at the very most) capital tax, and make up the bulk of tax receipts from progressive corporate and individual income taxes, with heavy tax incentives given to worker or otherwise publicly owned collectives.

How does one determine the value of land?

Sales and comps.

[Wikkiwallana]

(Image)

On the left side is the IRS tax code as of 2007. On the right side is the Fair Tax act of the same year.

Shorter does not equal better. Got any actual reasons?

[Sibirsky]

Well, making the tax code simple enough that people can do their own taxes rather than having to pay people to do them for them would be a good start to any sort of reform...

This.

[Sibirsky]

(Image)

On the left side is the IRS tax code as of 2007. On the right side is the Fair Tax act of the same year.

Shorter does not equal better. Got any actual reasons?

Yes, actually it does. The tax lawyers working for the IRS and the tax accountants working for the private sector are wasted labor and their pay is wasted capital.

[Valrez]

With talks about taxes it make me bring up the question: "Is our tax code a good one?"

Personally I wish we could have a simple flat tax at around 8-14%

But what do you believe should be the future of our tax system?

A flat tax would favour the rich a bit.

I chose the flat tax because its simple and fair, it doesn't discriminate if you make too much or make to little, its very equal and thats why i like it.

[Siorafrica]

It's not equal. Incomes are hugely different yet people have to pay the same.

[Terra Agora]

It's not equal. Incomes are hugely different yet people have to pay the same.

Umm no...
We have a progressive tax. Different incomes pay a different amount of taxes.

[Georgism]

It's not equal. Incomes are hugely different yet people have to pay the same.

Umm no...
We have a progressive tax. Different incomes pay a different amount of taxes.

I assume they were responding to a comment about flat taxes. Such as the one directly above their post.

[Terra Agora]

Umm no...
We have a progressive tax. Different incomes pay a different amount of taxes.

I assume they were responding to a comment about flat taxes. Such as the one directly above their post.

I guess they were.
Though there is a quote button for a reason.

[Georgism]

I assume they were responding to a comment about flat taxes. Such as the one directly above their post.

I guess they were.
Though there is a quote button for a reason.

Indeed.

[Sibirsky]

It's not equal. Incomes are hugely different yet people have to pay the same.

So make it marginal. And effectively two brackets, 0% for one and X% for the other. BAM! Progressive taxation!

[Call to power]

I suppose it could do with giving Barclays et al a kick square in the cunt, perhaps moving some of my tax onto consumption seeing as how that would be a better net for catching revenue. On the business side maybe looking at cutting import duties as they take the piss especially when your paying upwards of a grand to import from France.

Being English is pretty easy yo, unlike America we don't have to fiddle with any deductions because the government just takes everything

Your economy would be a train wreck!

your economy would represent a shitty sub-Saharan state but "fair taxers" tend to get pissy when I point that out