A tax proposal

[say1988]

My point was that a progressive system is not inherently complicated. As I said, the complication come from all the other factors, not the progressivity.

 

[Antilogic]

My tax plan for America:

- Federal expenses should be paid for with tariffs on imported crap. If this is not sufficient to cover Federal expenses, then you're spending too much.

- State expenses should be paid for with a retail sales tax.

- Local expenses should be paid for with property taxes, land value taxes, or something similar.

- Income taxes are stupid and should be abolished.

It's not the 19th century any more, buddy.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

In the 19th century, the federal government actually got close to three fourths of its revenue from excise taxes on alcohol rather than tariffs. People drank a whole lot more then though.

 

[JollyRoger]

@say1988 - what about small business? Dividends? What about x retirement account vs y retirement account? The code is a plethora of pages. There are tax layers and such that make a lot of money on the fact that most people do not understand the tax code. It's only simple for you because you applied it to just single income with a 9-5 job.

For most people (even those with a situation more complex that being a wage serf), Turbotax will easily guide them to an accurate tax return. To take advantage of certain aspects of the tax code, you have to plan ahead a bit, but it really isn't all that complicated. Of course, given how many people get duped by flat tax schemes that radically redefine income, perhaps I am over-estimating the cognitive skills of a great number of people.