A Fairer way to tax

It is amazing to me how many of the collectivists responding to this post are so generous with other people's money....especially those mean old rich people. They are then very stingy when it comes to their money - many receiving it in the form of "benefits" (code speak for "it was taken from another American"). What they won't admit (in fairness, maybe some will) is that this is simply a paraphrasing of the "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" credo of Marxism. I can see no moral or legal grounds to demand that any other citizen be required to meet my perceived needs. I see no moral or legal obligation to meet another citizen's needs. It always seems like those at the bottom are the only ones who desire for things to be leveled. It's always the kids who aren't good enough to play whose parents push for "minimum playing time" in recreational leagues. It's always the parents of the children with the lowest grades who demand that the tests be made fairer. It's always those who lack the desire, skills and work ethic to become wealthy who want to spread the wealth around.

How much money do you think you're talking about, bob, if the tax table went all the way down to...what?...$50? One percent of that is fifty cents. This 45% pay into the system throughout the year but they are eligible for deductions which bring their adjusted gross down to where they owe no tax. Are you suggesting that we do away with the deductions that lower a family's taxable income?

I support a fair tax, which would lead to me paying more in taxes but I think everybody should pay their share. I believe that a certain percentage to everyone rather than the graduated tax system that punishes success, is the most fair and would generate more in tax money for Congress to put forth their earmarks. But I am willing to bet that if EVERYBODY was paying taxes, people would be more upset about government spending. I do however think that it is silly to tax income that comes from taxes. Social Security - already taxed. Unemployment, already taxed...

So does this mean you believe that people that are getting social security should be paying another tax?? Or the veterans should be taxed?? I worked many years to pay taxes and then I paid into my social security. I beg to differ I have every stinkin right to have an input where money is spent. If you are talking welfare you need to get another clue as well.. welfare has to be reformed around the country just like they do in Massachusetts.

you've never run a business have you bob? gross income is what comes in. however if most or all of that is going on running costs, which is often the case during the beginning, then you are asking people to pay money in tax that they do not actually have. i assume you like the idea of taxing the poor and middle class more but this doesn't make any sense.

Wow, quite a spirited discussion going on here. I'll try to enter the fray here and respond on topic. After reading most of the responses so far, I can see both sides of the argument. First, it does annoy me that some of the people of society try and work the system to take anything and everything they can get. We all know there are layabouts that live off of the government dole and don't even try to work or help themselves in any way. I don't think these people should be rewarded for their behavior. Nobody should get more out of the government system than they pay in. On the other hand, it doesn't bother me a bit if we were to help the people that are making the effort to try and help themselves. In other words, if someone is trying to make it and is working a low paying job, they shouldn't have to pay income taxes until they make it above a certain level of income. Whatever the "poverty level" of income is, if someone makes below that amount, I think they should keep every dime they make. At least they are working for it. After that, it seems that there is a lot of discussion going on about how much to tax people of various incomes. So we could argue whether or not to implement a "flat tax" system or keep the graduated system we have now. I can see advantages and disadvantages to both. A flat tax system would tax everyone (above that poverty level I spoke of earlier) at the same percentage. It can be argued that this is the most fair way to tax as everyone has the same size slice of their income taken by the government. Everyone would have to pay say, 10% of their income, no matter how much they made. You could eliminate all deductions except for children which means you could do away with the IRS or downsize it substantially. That would save a lot of government spending right there. A graduated system, which we have now, taxes at a percentage that increases with income which takes a bigger slice of one's income as one makes more. Some people think this is more "fair" as they believe people with more money should pay more simply because they can. Some people look at this as punishing the rich by taking more of their money. It can be argued that this is a disincentive for anyone to strive for a higher level of success. Why make more when you just have to give a bigger portion to the government? Personally, I don't think it matters which system we use. Neither one will work if that's all we do. The system as it is now is dysfunctional. Redistribute income? Take from the rich and give to the poor? The government doesn't have any money to give to anybody! They continue year after year to spend more than they take in. No economy can continue to do that indefinitely without consequence. If they keep doing it everybody will pay, rich and poor alike, because the dollar will be devalued and we'll have runaway inflation, or worse. Whichever way we choose to pay taxes, whether it be a flat tax, graduated tax, Value Added Tax, national sales tax or any combination of taxes, we have to decide how much we want to give government for the services we want and stick to it. The government has to be made to live within it's means. They must be forced to balance the budget ALWAYS. We the people need to be the parents and tell them, like a child, how much their allowance is going to be and that's all they can spend. If we don't, it won't matter who pays what in taxes, the economy is still going to crash. You can all argue about which is the most fair way to tax but what we should really be talking about is how to spend the money.

I am kind of confused on this. Do you want the Fair tax and completely get rid of the IRS? Do you want additional taxes for everyone? Do you want all of the exemptions to disappear? What about those on Social Security for the elderly who are on fixed incomes? What about those on Disability? If you are making the point that the tax system is discriminatory, then yes I agree with that statement. No two people that make the same exact pay never pay the same amount in income taxes. Lately, the legislation is being very discriminatory to the "rich."

Okay you want a better system of getting money for the feds here it is. The Sales Tax you tax every transaction lets say 1% or maybe 3% this will be 3 cents to every dollar spent. This wouldn't harm productivity any and everyone would pay into it some way shape or form it would be less likely that a poor person would be taxed more as wealthy people often buy things that are more expensive. This way everyone would be paying into the system. And it would keep in mind the limits of lower level income earners. That way we could even tax the Homeless people because they also purchase things too. I think there should be a minimum needed to be reached before you get taxed. Right now though you are taxed every single paycheck that you get then at the end of the year you either over paid or under paid and sometimes you paid just the right amount but right now your minimum wage earner is taxed on every paycheck. that 45% is coming from when everyone goes and does taxes. So you want people to be forced to pay during that one period of time no matter what? Like I said I support there being a sales tax so that we can use businesses for what they are met for to be tax collectors for the government. Just image the government earning on every sale that happens within the United States 1 to 3 percent.

As far as I'm concerned, the only fair tax is the Fair Tax, or a consumption tax. If we had a consumption tax, no one would escape paying something, even visitors.

I think the federal income tax should be abolished and replaced with the "Fair Tax".