In the United States, an income tax is imposed on individuals on the federal, state and local levels. The United States uses a progressive-rate tax system. This system requires taxpayers to complete forms, such as the 1040 and to try to interrupt the tax code so it is beneficial to the taxpayer. Additionally, the progressive tax system is comprised of deductions, tax credits, and exemptions, which increase behaviors and activities that are focused on those areas. These tax adjustments can be allocated to provide additional relief to low-income citizens, or to encourage incentivized behaviors for citizens. While the progressive rate tax system has some obvious merits, there are also some significant flaws.
The progressive tax system is arranged in
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An example of tax brackets will assist you in understanding the concept. For example, in 2013, under a progressive rate tax system, taxpayers that filed under a schedule X-single who earned up to $8,925 fell into the 10% tax bracket. Other schedule X-single taxpayers who earned greater than $400,000 in 2103 fell into the 39.6% tax bracket. Due to this example; opponents of the progressive tax would argue that this tax system penalizes taxpayers for being successful and having a high income. Due to this penalty, taxpayers are less likely to strive to move up tax brackets because of the increase in tax rates. Another disadvantage of the progressive tax system is the concept of bracket creeping, which is related to higher inflation, causing a taxpayer to enter into a higher tax bracket, with no real increase in income after adjusting for inflation. This increases the tax burdens for taxpayers who are near the top-end of their tax brackets. Bracket creeping also adjusts the inequality in income after
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.
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...
In the United States, there are many different types of taxes. Some of them are goods and services, income, and property taxes (debt.org). The two most common taxes are the Flat Tax and the Fair Tax. Basically, Flax Tax is one income tax rate that everyone has to pay. Fair Tax is a proposal amendment to tax laws that removes the federal and state income taxes and replace it with a federal retail sale tax (Investorwords.com). Our current tax income system that we use is called Progressive Tax which is the tax system that takes a larger percentage from those who earn a higher income than those who earn a lower income (Investopedia.com). Out of all those taxes, the best one that I believe that can replace our current tax system is the Flat Tax because research has shown that it can be very beneficial for our economy today.
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.
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.
Progressive taxes increase as taxable base amounts increase. Progressive taxes have an effect on income and expenditures. The U.S. federal income is an example of progressive tax because the higher income a person has, the higher the tax bracket rate. This affects the rich. The higher their income the more they have to pay in taxes (Wikipedia)
Aaron Hill from Education Portal suggests “ A progressive tax system really acts as a tool for redistributing income from the upper class to the lower and middle class. Those individuals who earn more pay more into the federal government. This helps keeps the income gap from growing wider between the rich and the poor.” Although this is what the government claims most of the money is just recirculated for the federal government to use as it’s own
Introduction Taxes; who benefits and who gets ripped off focuses mostly on Federal and county taxes and not on state taxes. This report aims to give the reader some insight on taxes: Why we have them, what types of benefits they supply, who benefits from them, and who gets screwed by them. It informs the reader of the different types of taxation, where the money comes from and where it goes. How can people avoid some tax increases? But most of all, this report informs the reader that there is an incredible amount of money being wasted by the federal government through overspending and irresponsible behavior of government departments. This overspending has created a deficit that has caused billions of dollars in damage to the credit of the country. As a result of these excess taxes, the American taxpayer is getting ripped off by paying for waste in government. Most people in this country are being ripped off in the amount of taxes they pay due to corruption gover...
The United States tax system is in complete disarray. Republicans and Democrats agree that the current tax code is complex, unfair, and costly. The income tax system is so complex; the IRS publishes 480 tax forms and 280 forms to explain the 480 forms (Armey 1). The main reason the tax system is so complex is because of the special preferences such as deductions and tax credits. Complexity in the current tax system forces Americans to spend 5.4 billion hours complying with the tax code, which is more time than it takes to manufacture every car, truck and van produced in the United States (Armey 1). Time is not the only thing that is lost with the current tax system; Americans also lose great deal of money complying with the tax code. Resources that are currently wasted on record keeping, filing forms, learning the tax code, litigation, and tax avoidance. The cost of complying with the current tax code totals about $200 billion annually, or $700 for every man, woman, and child in America (Armey 1). The overwhelming consensus that the current tax system is inadequate has ignited the search for tax reform. There are numerous proposals for tax reform; one particular proposal brought forth by various conservatives is the idea of national flat rate income tax. The idea is to replace the current income tax with a single rate that everyone pays.
Alvin C. Warren, Jr. explains that there are three different options that could be used to reform our tax policy; improving an existing tax base, introducing a new tax, and rationalization of the relationships between taxes (2). In the U.S., tax reform generally has meant “refinement and improvement of the income tax” (Warren 2). Improving an existing tax base should not be done in one big step but in incremental stages. “Years of getting nowhere taught conservatives the virtues of incrementalism” (Ponnuru 2). Another option that Warren explained was introducing a new ta...
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.
There are fifty one states in the United States of America. Each one of them differs from the other one. Indeed, the role and type of the government that each states has is various and unique. Comparing two states, California and Texas, there are obviously differences between them as well as similarities. California is a state located on the West Coast with rich and diverse landscape. Nowadays, California reflects the whole complex of problems related to development of economic and political life of a country. Meanwhile, Texas is a state on the South with flat landscape and growing economy. Studying separately each of these states, the research shows that Texas and California differ in their taxation system and welfare programs, but they are similar in education system and level of crime rates.
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.
“Advocates say that, with a flat tax, most people could figure their annual taxes on a simple postcard” (McGrath). That is how simple it is to do the flat tax. People don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars or reserve many hours to do their taxes; rather they can in a few minute have it completed. The Governor of Texas also said in 2011, “It simplifies the filing process, allowing taxpayers to complete their returns in minutes and submit them on a postcard. And it will save Americans up to $483 billion in annual compliance costs” (Perry). It would be legend if people could save $483 billion in just annual compliances only that it not even counting the growth effects that a flat tax would have on the
The four types of taxes this paper will discuss are income tax, sales tax, property tax, and user fees. Income tax was not permanently established until the 16th Amendment was passed in 1913. Most federal taxes had been previously derived from excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol and other consumer goods. The US Constitution, when written and still continues to, legitimize taxation in the United States through Article I, Section 8, that Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes, duties et al, pay the debts or provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States (Cornell Law LII). Investopedia defines income tax as ‘a tax government(s) impose on financial income generated by all entities within their jurisdictions (Investopedia, 2014). Businesses and individuals are required to file an income tax return every year to determine if they owe taxes or qualify for a refund. That is determined by measuring the total income one earns to a designated tax rate, calculating one’s taxable income, which are some or all items of income reduced by other adjustments or expenses in that tax year. There are different subcategories of income tax; there is a federal income tax that is set by the federal government, apart from a few states, there is a state income tax that is imposed on their respective residents, as well as the possibility of there being local income tax ...