Whether or not the United States government should adopt a flat tax system in place of its current progressive tax system has been a hotly debated topic for decades. A flat tax is a tax system which refers to a tax on household income that is the same amount for each household- regardless of income level. The United States currently implements a progressive tax system, meaning that high-income earners pay taxes at a higher rate than low-income earners. The two systems differ greatly in their objectives and methods of execution and typically cause a good deal of unrest amongst lawmakers and citizens alike.
A flat tax system, also known as a proportional tax system, implements the same percentage rate of taxation on everyone, regardless of income. It has been proposed multiple times in the past couple of decades for a flat-rate tax system to be put into action to replace the current progressive system. In a cartoon from the Denver Post, Mike Keefe illustrates Governor Rick Perry’s constant flat tax proposals that have gained the reputation as being pushy and harmful to the working and middle classes (Keefe). Keefe does this by showing a man perceived as Rick Perry carrying a huge glorified baseball bat while walking away from two other small weak men who represent the working and middle class, who have just been forcibly convinced that flat taxes are “beautiful in its simplicity” (Keefe). One of the cherished characteristics of this type of tax system is that it does not discriminate based on income. The Gale encyclopedia acknowledges that originally “the Founding Fathers were opposed to any politics based on income differences because they feared it would lead to class distinctions in the law” (“Flat Tax Provision”). This shared v...
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...nomic History. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Detroit: Gale, 1999. N. pag. Student Resources in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Keefe, Mike. “Perry’s Flat Tax.” Cartoon. The Denver Post. (26 October 2011). Web. 13 March 2014.
McEwan, Arthur. "What's Wrong With A Flat Tax?" Dollars & Sense 302 (2012): 31. Business Source Complete. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
"Progressive Tax." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Detroit: Gale, 1999. N. pag. Student Resources in Context. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
"Proportional Tax." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Detroit: Gale, 1999. N. pag. Student Resources in Context. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Rao, Manita, and Christian E. Weller. "Progressive Tax Policy and Economic Stability." Journal of Economic Issues 44.3 (2010): 629. Student Resources in Context. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
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Our current system of taxation is a varied rate percentage based on different income brackets. Many say that it violates our constitutional rights through unequal taxation. Multiple deductions, loopholes, special rates, and a complex system of regulations all characterize our Federal Income Tax System, prompting many to question why it is still being used (Peters, 2013). The current system although bringing in over $3 trillion, taxes income multiple times, and includes the taxing of estate, labor, savings, and investments (National Priorities Project, 2013). The system itself is complex with over 20,000 pages of regulations, requiring a massive filing system, which is set up and maintained by an even larger IRS, requiring over $225 billion in compliance costs (Hall, 2001). One can be hard pressed to find an advantage in the current system, other than the fact that it provides the government with an enormous amount of funds, and it has...
Early Grants and Allocations –a supplemental tax was given to schools to enhance school programs.
Mehan, C.. N.p.. Web. 19 Jan 2014. . . N.p.. Web. 6 Mar 2014. . Kirkland, Stephen D. "Should We Have A Flat Tax?." Business & Economic Review 49.1 (2002): 27.
I. You might have heard politicians in the news, talk about overhauling our tax system with a new fix-all idea, the flat-tax. This would simplify our overly complicated tax system and might seem appealing at first glance, however there are serious problems with it.
Reid, John Phillip. Constitutional History of the American Revolution / the Authority to Tax. Madison, WI: Univ. of Wisconsin, 1987. 33. Print.
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The U.S. along with only 6 other countries use the progressive tax, the progressive tax is a very unfair and inconsistent taxing system.This system has a varying rate that taxes the higher income homes with a higher rate,and the lower with a reduced rate.The Flat tax is a taxing system that has one flat tax rate for all ranges of income homes. The flat tax has been proposed multiple times throughout legislation , but not once has it been taken seriously as a cure to fix the current tax problems.The U.S. needs to adopt the Flat Tax because it is a simplistic system that would be fair to use and also promote economic growth.
Hoffman, Kathy Barks. "Rick Snyder presents $45 billion budget; cuts to education, personal tax exemptions." Oakland Press, February 17, 2011: 1-3.
3. Beard, Charles A. "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States". American Politics. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, MA. 1999. (Pages 27 -- 33).
Taxation has always been a major controversy. Just like any major corporation, the government is constantly looking to raise revenue. The easiest and fairest way to do this is by taxing the people. However, how the people will be taxed is always an issue.
-Fisher, G (1996). The Worst Tax?: A History of the Property Tax in America (Univ. Press of Kansas)