We do need tax simplification....

[catnhatnh]

and the republicans seem to offer it.But I will buy it when the ENTIRE us tax code is put in play.Lets have a super-majority (75%) answer as to what the definition of terms like "income" and "voluntary" mean.Check your dictionary and see what the definitions of "wages" and "income" are.Especially check the definition of "voluntary".Force the congress to write laws that conform with the dictionary definitions-if they want a wages tax force them to say so.Allow them 50 pages, no more, of clear english text of whom and what is to be taxed.Insist that ANY tax break to any corporation or individual sunsets within 27 months unless openly debated and approved in congress (ie:24 month break with 3 months to reapprove or it is over).With congress in a corporate grip insist that ANY legislation that advantages their interest pass a super-majority-if they are going to buy congress,let it at LEAST be expensive.And MOST importantly, this country needs to reassess the legal standings of corporations...it is currently too high due to old legislation,but I'll leave you to google that.Just my two cents...

[Solon]

1. Easy, here's a table for income tax...

Tax Exempt up to 40,000 dollars per year

40,001-80,000 = 25% tax rate
80,001-200,000 = 35% tax rate
200,001-600,000 = 55% tax rate
600,001-1,000,000 = 65% tax rate
1,000,001-10,000,000 = 75% tax rate
10,000,001+ = 90% tax rate

No exemptions for any of these, no loopholes, and capital gains and related taxes will be taxed a similar way.

[brainshrub]

90% tax rate?

Isn't that a tad high?

The goal of taxes is to generate revenue to provide for the common good, not punish the wealthy.

Personally, I like the idea of a flat tax for individuals, and a progressive tax for businesses.

[BillZBubb]

4. How is a 90% rate on income over $10million punishing anyone?

We really need a level like that to return corporate insider compensation to the real world. Ever since the top tax rate was felled, executive compensation has been obscene. Don't forget the US enjoyed one of it's biggest booms when the top rate was 90%. And we also enjoyed widespread prosperity, not the winner take all that we endure now.

[Solon]

7. No, it is similar to the tax code from the 1950s

since the repukes are so intent on bringing us back to that era, the least they could do is ressurect its tax code, which is actually less forgiving to the rich than mine.

[sandnsea]

25. To pay for WWII

Good grief, get a grip. That's insane and John Kennedy is the one who brought those taxes down.

[Solon]

27. Not by much...

In fact, there was a gradual tax decrease for the richest people in the country all the way until the 1970s, but even then, it was over 50%, it wasn't until Raygun that their taxes dropped like a rock. Besides, that was to pay for WWII, now we need to pay for some of the largest debt in history, I believe that warrents a tax increase on the rich today, just like it did after WWII.

[sandnsea]

29. Different incomes, different rates

And it had gone up and down. The top rate on straight income was 50%. I agree with you, taxes should definitely go up. But not to WWII rates.

http://home.att.net/~Resurgence/TaxTimeline.htm

[ComerPerro]

12. Only over 10 million. So what's it matter?

[Solon]

15. Flat tax for individual income is a bad idea, and punitive to the poor...

the poor would pay more, proportionally, in taxes than the rich in the case of a flat tax. Not to mention that a lot more of thier income goes towards necessities like food, rent, and bills, than it does for the rich, and they get penalized twice. Unless you exempt everyone who makes under let's say 50 grand, but even then, a tad unfair to those in the Upper Middle classes. If you notice, my tax rate actually starts out at a slightly lesser rate than most people in the starting income tax bracket pays today.

[heidler1]

20. The rich think the way to hold down rates is for everyone to pay the same

rate, but in order to make it work reasonably most of the income of lower earning people would have to be exempt from tax. This would create a loud scream about how the new system was being mucked up. Also the universal rate would have to be much higher than stated in the rich's flat tax spin or the revenue wouldn't pay the bills, much like Bush's tax scam.

[LostinVA]

31. Flat taxes are repressive and extremely unprogressive

Someone making $25k being taxed the same as someone making millions a year? WTF? Interesting to see this advocated on DU.

[BillZBubb]

What about corporations?

And what about perqs like autos, club memberships, health insurance, travel, etc? What about options? What about foreign earnings?

What deductions are allowed?

A lot of the tax code is about what is and isn't "taxable income". Your tax table is simple enough, but that's not where the problems lie.

[Solon]

11. My table only applies to federal income tax...

taxes collected through earned income. I didn't hash out tables for either capital gains yet, foriegn earnings for individuals would be taxed at the same rate as they would here if they are a citizen of this nation, or a resident. Gifts and perks, I feel should be taxed at sales tax rates, but that would be a state issue. Health insurance wouldn't apply, really, because with this type of tax system set up National Health Care could be afforded easily by the government, not to mention balancing the budget overall.

[catnhatnh]

9. Yeah, I like it....

...but when they find out how MANY of us are exempt, they will snort their noses and change the rules...Really-you are close,though I might knock 5% off each bracket and build a buffer formula in for those earning less than 10% over your break points, like especially where 80k= 60k net and 80k+1 cent=50.5k-really a fair rate would conform to an income curve with the distribution is by single defrined percentage points....picking an income point that can support a tax of 1% increasing to a maximum nearing 85-90%..like how about starting at the standard of poverty for a family of four-updated each year-plus 15% being the 1% tax threshold...

[Solon]

14. I was thinking about graphing an exponential function for tax rates...

The only problem is that right now I feel mathed out, so to speak. Maybe you can think of a simple math formula for income taxes?

[Double T]

10. Looks good!! I'll support your tax reform legislation.

[heidler1]

19. Would those rates pay the bills?

[Solon]

21. Couldn't hurt...

In fact, having a tax system for just income tax that is like mine would probably balance the budget in less than 5 years, though I haven't bothered to crunch the numbers yet. Though, to be honest, I would GREATLY expand social services and at the same time slash the military budget for toys by about 60% and soldier's pay and VA benefits would be increased by about 200%.

[heidler1]

24. If Bush would quit digging this debt hole I'd be a lot happier

[SharonAnn]

2. All income should be equal. No preferences for dividends, etc.

Since when do we tax the workers more than the non-workers?

Anyone study history? Anyone familiar with the underlying cause of many revolutions?

[brainshrub]

3. I've been researching the idea that manual labor should be tax-free.

Why tax what you are trying to encourage?

Anyways, it's just an idea and I haven't thought it through yet.

[sandnsea]

30. Jefferson agrees

"A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government."

He wasn't talking about all income, like some today try to claim. He differentiated between labor and the landed society, he is talking about the worker here. IMHO.

[Solon]

17. I studied history...

It goes in cycles, kinda like this, income inequalities get so great that the poor are barely living, the rich are practically or literally kings and queens. Abuse of power occurs by the rich to get to this place, along with further stratification of the classes, then eventually, the poor get fed up and revolt, leading to many deaths. Rinse, repeat ad infintum. This has happened since civilization was founded, the only thing different today is that, let's say during the middle ages, the serfs usually had no direction or ideology and the revolts usually failed because of that. That changed most drastically during the French Revolution, and also Marx gave many others a philosophy as well, this scares the elites to death, because the success rate, due to todays direction of the poor, is much higher than in the past.

[occuserpens]

5. We do need tax simplification???

Real problem is not the complexity of the tax code, but budget and trade deficits. Code tweaking won't change this.

[patrice]

6. Very good strategy to start with a Dictionary like that. Definition of

Terms can be very strategic AND it helps propagate meaning (memes) for those who haven't yet begun to articulate meaning on their own. The Definitions are only a Model, though, for what makes any thing what it is and not something else. Models help to identify and initiate critical processes.

Beware of false dichotomies. (G. Lakeoff)

[occuserpens]

16. YES!

"Tax simplification" is a typical GOP catch to start the wrong discussion on wrong issues.

[patrice]

22. Give the people the language, as a starting point, encourage their

participation. Work with those who are productive in free-schools, bricks AND clicks.

[patrice]

23. P.S. I used to help coach Debate. I debated in college, not varsity thoug

and I'm married to a Libertarian corporate general counsel.

[BillZBubb]

8. Tax simplification would be great, but who does the simplifying?

That's the big problem. You know as well as I do that the corporations and the well to do would be writing the rules. It's to prevent that that our side has been reluctant to push for major changes.

One thing I think the Democrats absolutely should do though is tie the tax rates to the minimum wage--instead of dollar amounts. And no indexing for inflation, only changes in the minimum wage. Anything income under 4 times the minimum wage is untaxed. Above that it gets more steeply progressive.

Then you would see even the right wing fanatics clamoring to raise the minimum wage.

[napi21]

13. One BIG change that could bring everything into a fair line is

the complete elimination of all the special exemptions that have been written into the tax code over the years. The tax code is over 4,000 pages because so many single exemptions that apply to a very few or sometimes only one small group or single company have been stuck in there. Most of these special exemptions apply only to certain businesses, and even the very wealthy never have cause to use them.

[PowerToThePeople]

18. Well, I pay HUGH!!HH taxes

Federal income at at 27%, Social security/Medicare 7.65%,state income at 7.8%, local sales at 7%, plus additional taxes for my habits (driving-gas taxes, drinking-alcohol taxes, and tobacco-tobacco taxes)

So, I actually have to spend for myself less than 50% of what my Gross income level.

That is the reason for this post
How the F#$% is anyone supposed to support themselves..

[sandnsea]

26. Wyden has a Fair Flat Tax Plan (that isn't a flat tax at all)

http://www.wyden.senate.gov/media/2005/10272005_fair_flat_tax_act.html

According to the Congressional Research Service, the Fair Flat Tax Act of 2005 can provide tax cuts for middle-class families and for families with wage and salary income up to $150,000. Wyden’s plan provides higher standard deductions for every individual, ends tax provisions that prefer unearned income such as capital gains and dividends over wage and salary income, and provides an unprecedented, refundable 10 percent tax credit for every taxpayer’s state and local taxes – a direct benefit for the more than two-thirds of taxpayers who currently do not itemize their taxes.

[Sgent]

28. In my dream world

taxes would start at 35k or so and be progressive.

Income:
-- All interest income
-- All earned income
-- Current Market Value of any benefits
-- Pension Income
-- Social Secuity Income (but SS would not be reduced according to earnings)
-- Market value of any government benefits
-- Doesn't include capital gains (see below)
-- Foriegn Earnings Net of Foriegn taxes


Deductions:
-- None (see below)

I would continue (and enhance) deductiblity of business profit/losses. I would require that all stockholders include their share of income/loss as part of their taxable income -- whether the company pays it out or not. Even if they only owned a stock for 2 days, they must include as income 2/365's of the annual income of the stock. Allow for carryback/carryforward of corporate losses.

This would essentially eliminate a host of ineffieciancies, and make things much easier for taxpayers and the government to enforce. Although there would have to be substantial regulations for corporations to define income/loss, it would still significantly reduce current paperwork required.