For this assignment I have chosen two states to compare their tax systems and how effective they are. As Dr. Timothy Kersey stated, “Ever-changing economic conditions and citizen demands place continuous pressure on state leaders to develop effective tax systems, but not all states are up to the task.” The two states I have chosen are Nevada and Oklahoma. Yet random, I chose these states because I’d like to inform not only myself but others as well on how their tax systems work. In Nevada there are four major taxes; Individual Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Sales and Excise Taxes, and Property Taxes. Nevada’s individual income tax system exercises no individual income tax, combining seven other states with the same policy: Alaska, Florida, …show more content…
Oklahoma’s individual income tax system is made up of seven brackets and a top rate of 5.25%. That top rate ranks 22nd lowest among states imposing an individual income tax. The state and local government of Oklahoma collected $730 a person during the year of 2012, while ranking the 17th lowest nationally. Unlike Nevada, Oklahoma’s corporate income tax system has a flat rate of 6%. This ranks 19th lowest among other states. The state and local corporate income tax collectors collected $117 a person in 2012, while ranking 22nd lowest nationally. Lower than Nevada, Oklahoma taxes 4.5% on general sales which is below the national median of 5.95%. This state’s government collects $1133 a person in general sales taxes and $393 a person in excise taxes, for a total of $1526, ranking 20th highest nationally. Now property taxes, Oklahoma’s property tax collections are relatively low just like Nevada’s. Oklahoma’s state and local government collected almost $603 a person in property taxes in 2012, while ranking 2nd lowest …show more content…
Early in the year, state tax revenue came in $50 million dollars below expectations. Luckily, the state financial administrators had shifted in that incident. In not only legislative but executive branches of state as well, government support is rapidly growing for adjustments to the tax system. Being sure, several of the state leaders would love to get off the “financial roller coaster” that comes along with the energy of taxes. Preston Doerflinger, Oklahoma’s Secretary for Finance and Revenue, wants to wipe out tax exemptions. Doerflinger says, “We could lower our sales tax, that citizens pay and just broaden the base.” He distinguished that the list of different types of businesses that don’t collect sales taxes includes nail salons, etc. Lawyers and accountants are also exempt from paying sales taxes as well. Doerflinger also states, "I'm finding it very difficult to understand why that it isn't getting any traction when we elect to choose a bad habit. I think that's very different, proposing a cigarette tax on smokers, versus messing with the income tax on people who are working." In a way, Oklahoma has a dual system with suburban areas being taxed at a comparatively high level when compared to country counties. "I think that's an important conversation to have. I don't know if lawmakers are willing to get that much in the weeds,
Whether or not to keep or discard the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy, give tax breaks to the lowest tax bracket, and even throwing out the entire current tax code and replacing it with a simpler version, tax code and tax law has been a very controversial topic for the past few years. As it stands, the current tax code has over seventy two thousand pages, compared to the four hundred pages it had in 1913. There are many different stakeholders in this debate including taxpayers, corporations, businesses, etc. Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is an organization that was “founded in 1985 by Grover Norquist at the request of President Reagan”(.N.p.). Their goal is to create and advocate for a simple flat tax,“...on the belief that they will provide a strong stimulus to investment, employment, and output” (Stokey 1). They promote their organization and represent taxpayers in all fifty states. Along with tax reform, ATR also advocates for individual health care, free trade, and spending transparency (.N.p.). Using very simple and easy to understand images, ATR is able to convey their goals and get information across to the general audience that visits their website.
The federal income tax is broken up into different groups based on a tax payers marital status. Taxpa...
To reiterate, the current tax system is thought to be regressive because the tax system does not provide a balance for those with high income and those with low; however, this can be fixed by adopting some aspects of a state with progressive features. For instance, the state of California as a much better tax system than Texas because they have a “graduated personal income tax structure and provides personal income tax credits in place of personal and dependent exemptions” (“California”). If Texas adopted these two characteristics into their tax system this will began to progress because some of the faults in the present Texas tax system is the lack of personal income tax structure and it does not not provide tax credits to low-income taxpayers to offset other expenses. Making these few changes will help Texas greatly; however, making this change will be difficult because the state is comfortable with the tax system they have. Texas does not care to alter the tax system much because although it is weak, it does not take too much away from the overall economic success the state
...state politicians need to wake up and smell the dry aired air, and begin to work together for new laws that apply to the supply and demand of today, not yesterday.
What does every employee constantly complain about every single paid day? What is one of the main topics that the presidential candidates stressed while campaigning? How come people like drug dealers get a big advantage in this world when it comes to pay taxes? And again, what consistently holds down the hard working American? I have found a way to answer all those questions? This concept has actually found a way to tax everybody, not just the working ones. This concept also makes it fair and economical to our federal government, not just the individual taxpayer. Under the implementation of this concept an individual could receive a paycheck and have virtually no taxes taken from it. This 15% sales tax eliminates confusion, taxes everybody, and organizes the government in a way that has never been done.
Sam Brownback has made many tax mistakes including the one with most controversy, his raise in sales tax. Brownback was trying to compensate for his cut in overall tax but simply didnt do much but anger a bunch of people who reside in the state of kansas. He created a crazy amount of revenue in raising the sales tax “The governor
Tax season is upon us and many Americans are scrambling around trying to get theirs finished by the end of the dead line. This time of year is not a joyous occasion, everyone on edge most of them pondering how much they will have to pay. While others are wondering if they will get as much as they thought they will, or are they going to be one of the unlucky few to be audited? I am one of those people, anxious, and waiting at the edge of my seat for that hammer of reality to come crashing down over my head. With each new election year comes new arguments and battles fought within the halls of Capital Hill, but who is right and is there a middle ground? I will present you with the facts as I have found them; the choice is yours to determine what is right and what is wrong.
For the past eleven years, opponents from the left and right side of the political spectrum have lambasted the FairTax. Politicians who don’t want to relinquish the power given them by the current tax system are the proposal’s biggest opposition. They don’t want to give up the withholding system. They don’t want to give up the sixteenth amendment. They don’t want to lower taxes. They oppose the FairTax for the sake of their own greed and agendas. Despite all their baseless criticism, the FairTax is continuing to gain support on the grass roots and political levels. The statistical data and scientific analysis, compiled over the last eleven years, is overwhelming proof of the FairTax’s ability to bring transparency to the tax system, broaden the tax base and to fix the U.S. economy.
Having a lower tax rate the state can collect a greater amount of tax money and vice versa. California has an income personal tax which is progressive (Janiskee 101). On the contrary, Texas has a “low service, low tax” reputation with regressive tax system. Furthermore, Texas is one of the nine states that still do not have a personal income tax (Champagne, 314). California’s income tax is designed to match inflation rates in order not to push a taxpayer into higher rates (Janiskee 101). The most substansial single tax financing Texas government is sales tax. Today, the sales tax in Texas is 6.25 percent which automatically places Texas in the rank of states with highest sales tax rate. Moreover, city and county are allowed to impose additional 2 percent sales tax (Champagne 317). Likewise, California has 7.5 percent sales tax which considered being a high rate as well as in Texas. In addition to the income and sales tax...
Oklahoma is located in the south central United States. Oklahoma is placed in the south, but is partially in the Great Plains by definitions of hypothetical geographical-culture regions. Oklahoma is the 20th most expanded state and also the 28th most populous out of the total 50 states in the United States. Residents living in Oklahoma are often referred to as “Oklahomans” or “okies”. A major part of Oklahoma is its capital city Oklahoma City, which is where I was born and raised. Much of the western land of Oklahoma was part of the "unassigned land" including present day Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City is Oklahoma’s largest city in the state. Oklahoma has a big population and is currently 29th among United States cities in population. A 2012 census shows the population count of Oklahoma City is 599,199 residents. Oklahoma City is ranked as the 8th largest city in the United States by its land area. Oklahoma City is also the second-largest city in the United States by land area whose government is not stabilized. Throughout my paper I will discuss and give information about Oklahoma’s history, climate, economy, and government.
Taxes in the United States include payroll taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and a multitude of others. These taxes may be imposed on individuals, business entities, estates, trusts, or other forms of organizations. In general, there is a lot of inquiry on the current tax system. With endless loopholes, a regressed economy, and corruption there has been widespread anger on the current structure of taxation. Consequently, the wealthy have managed to become even richer despite the economic crisis. Furthermore, many taxpayers in the upper class have found loopholes to avoid substantial taxation or otherwise known as tax evasion. (Stewart 2013) Tax evasion has only grown over the years and with the national debt has become a major issue. What is more, is the intense complexity of the entire taxation process. Addressing all the issues and problems regarding the taxation structure is a meticulous and arduous process. With this in mind, politicians from both parties have tried to address individual issues within the taxation paradigm. Being that the United States has the highest corporate tax in the globe, politicians have tried to change policy regarding taxation on businesses. (Sullivan 2013) How...
According to Accounting Theory: Contemporary Accounting Issues by Evans, accountants have developed two alternative approaches to accounting for income taxes, which are the cash method and the allocation method. The cash method is described as a simple and direct approach. The amount of income taxes actually paid for the year is reported on the Income Statement. The amount comes from the firm's income tax return and fit is not adjusted in any way. Therefore, the firm's actual transaction to record its income tax liability is the basis for the amount of the income tax expense reported on the Income Statement. The allocation method is a bit different. The actual amount of tax that is paid in the year is ignored when it comes to reporting income tax expense on the Income Statement. The amount of income tax expense reported on the Income Statement is based on the on the income tax rate that the firm pays, which is applied to the amount of pretax income. This makes the Income Statement perfectly consistent with the before-tax income. Using the allocation method makes it look like all items on the Income Statement based on the same method.
“These taxes are set high enough to finance the administration of new laws, but not so high that customers are driven back to the black market” (Frosch, 2013). There are many financial benefits that a state can help pay for the enforcement and other fundamental issues. One bad thing about taxing so high is that you can simply crowd out the regulated market.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Indeed the potential loss of tax revenue for states and municipalities is one of the biggest concerns. Unlike the federal government, which does not impose a sales tax, states are heavily dependent on sales taxes to raise revenues. Sales taxes comprise 49% of tax revenues collected by the states, while state income taxes comprise only 33%, according to the federal statistics. Critics of the ITFA say that if states municipalities are not permitted to collect taxes on Internet transactions, they could lose much needed revenue that helps pay for government services such as highway construction and public education. Others say that not collecting sales tax from the Internet is inherently discriminatory since businesses that do not engage in electronic commerce must still charge sales taxes.