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News-Sentinel.com Your Town. Your Voice.
Opening Arguments

Broken

Just how long is the tax code? This long:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Too intimidated to fill out your tax return without help? Join the club.

At nearly 4 million words, the U.S. tax law is so thick and complicated that businesses and individuals spend more than 6 billion hours a year complying with filing requirements, according to a report Wednesday by an independent government watchdog.

That's the equivalent of 3 million people working full-time, year-round.

[. . .]

"This report confirms that the code is 10 times the size of the Bible with none of the good news," said Rep. Dave Camp, chairman of the House and Ways and Means Committee. "Our broken tax code has become a nightmare of loopholes and special interest provisions that create added complexities and costs for hardworking taxpayers and small businesses."

Of course, the Bible just gives us the sweeping overview of how we should live our lives, which takes considerably fewer words than the fussy little details of how we must live our lives. Of course, when you boil the Bible down to its essence, you're still left with 10 Commandments. You could boil the tax code down to one sentence: "You may think you own your money, but we own you, and don't ever forget it."

Yeah, broken, and so broken it can't really be fixed. Scrap it and start over.

Comments

Tim Zank
Thu, 01/10/2013 - 6:29pm

No deductions for anybody whatsoever....everybody pays.

A flat rate of 15% across the board for wages period for everybody from the paperboy to the Chairman of the Board  including welfare checks, ss checks, food stamps, (any check for any entitlement) and 15% across the board on corporations net income (profit)...

Overnight there would be no need for 90% of the lobbyists, as most all favors doled out on Capitol Hill are for preferential tax treatment....

 

 

 

 

Harl Delos
Thu, 01/10/2013 - 8:27pm

Corporations are people, Tim.  Why a flat rate of 15% on gross income fpr people, and a flar rate of 15% on net income for corporations, many of which have large foreign ownership?

Jpe's Bar, Inc, gets to deduct their DirecTV. so everybody should get to deduct the cost of television.  Harry's Trash Hauling gets tok deduct all the costs of their cars and trucks.  It's parently unfair that people who own businesses can have the companies pay for all kjnds of perks that other people have to pay for with after-tax dollars.

So make it an income tax for everybody.  A flat 10% tax on gross receipts would do it.  Yeah, when a guy runs a restaurant that has gross receipts of $1 million, and between his salary, benefits, and profits, there is $50K in his pocket, he would pay $100,000 for the eorporation, and $5,000 for himself.  The guy down the street runs hid besiness as a sole proprietor, saving $5,000 a year in taxes - which is reasonable.  A corporation's primary purpose is to avoid responsibility.  We need to encourage people to take responsiblity for their actions.

That's a conservative notion, Tim.  Be responsible, instead of depending on the government to bail out your butt.

 

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