Pay till there is nothing left.

[Jim Stewart]

Our current tax code was designed to control behavior! The mortgage interest tax credit was meant to spur housing purchases (see where that got us). The deductions for IRAs and tax deferred retirements were meant to spur savings. The tax deductions for tuition were meant to promote higher education.

That was in the old days, over the last several years it has also been changed to control different behavior. The "if you pay nothing, you get something back" provisions are designed to take from the haves and give to the have nots. Increased taxes on the wealthy are designed to create a greater divide among the classes and create hatred. Penalizing (now their calling it a tax) those that choose not to have health care to pay for those that want it but don't want to pay anything for it, is designed to create a National Health care System controlled by the government.

Until we have a flat tax with no deductions will we have a country where the people control their own behavior and not the government. But then again, my opinions don't count because I am in the Majority!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[StStg1]

Originally Posted by wnytaxman

Want to know one of the reasons your taxes are so high? How about this one. A lady comes into our office. She is single and lives in a very nice house with her boyfriend. They have two kids. She has a W-2 of $25,000. With all the child credits and earned income credits she gets a refund of (are you ready for this?) $11,000. America, what a country!!!!

I used to be in the same business on the Fedral side (IRS) Yes there are many people that can claim refundable credits and get more refunded than they paid in. I'm now retired and don't have income except pension and SSA as does my DW. I barely get by but thankfully, even though the pensins are taxable, I usually don't have to pay additional tax.

[llib enad]

Have to remember that a penny saved is a goverment oversite.

Bill Dane
99 CC Allure

[Wayne M]

Jim said it.
Need a flat tax. No loop holes, no baloney.

[dieselclacker]

Nooooo! Hell No! don't enact a flat tax, I would then have to start paying taxes again!


Dieselclacker

[azloafer]

I am a senior citizen and I recall hearing about a flat tax all my life. It never happened and probably never will. It would make it harder for the government to reduce deductions and gain more income as they do now. Now they just make a little change in deductions and they take in millions more. There is talk of changing the mortgage interest deduction and property tax deduction. I don't think that they will eliminate it all together, but they will probably allow less than a 100 percent deduction in the near future. Joe

[puddinhead]

Instead of just looking at revenue side (income tax) look at the expense side, where the money is spent. A large portion of our taxes (and debt) is spent on military and defense. The US spends more than the next 20 countries combined. We have bases all over the world, all of which cost US taxpayers a lot...

Why do we have bases in Germany? Is Hitler still on the loose (like Bin Laden) and England, Italy, Japan, Canada, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia? We are the world's policeman but no one else is paying us for the protection provided in their country. The US also has more nukes than the rest of the world combined. One US aircraft carrier would be the sixth largest military if it was it’s own country. I’m for a strong military but if others want our umbrella of protection, they should share in the cost.

SS disability? SS was setup as a retirement plan, not a disability plan for those that didn't pay for it. My wife and I have maxed our SS contributions for years and have scrimped and saved to have retirement income. I truly believe that when it's time for me to retire, I'll be told there is a means test and the $5k a month you were planning on from SS will be given to someone that hasn’t made any plans for retirement, as you have other money set aside. Even though 15% of income went to SS (with employer match).

Health care? Require everyone to have health insurance, and then the cost will come down. BUT remove the provision to require hospitals to treat everyone that needs care regardless of ability to pay. If you didn't want health insurance and can't pay for it, then you don't get treated, just like car insurance. If you don't have car insurance and you get into an accident, no one will fix it unless you can pay for it...

Poor people in this country are better off than others in some countries. A poor person probably has a phone, car, dwelling with heat and a/c, health care (Medicaid) and may even have cable TV, but still be poor. Compare the lifestyles of the average Somalia resident. Or Mexican...

Contact your elected representative and complain, organized groups have lobbyists. The tax code has become a case for social engineering. Remove deductions for personal and corporate income tax and lower the rate. Be careful in wanting a VAT, which would only get added to our income tax, not replace it. One bright side of the recession may be the paring of spending lest we become the next Greece.

Of course I could be right

[wnytaxman]

As to the lady who got back way more than she paid in, let me give you a breakdown of how the system works. Her gross income was $24,500. She had a deduction for student loan interest even though she does not work in the same field that she got her degree in. That brought her down to $23,500 adjusted gross income. Now we take off her $8,400 standard deduction for head of household and her exemptions for herself and two kids and we have a taxable income of $4,166 and an income tax of $418. But wait that tax gets wiped out by the child care credit. She did have $2,608 in federal withholding but to that we add $400 making work pay credit, $3,325 for the earned income credit, and then an additional $2,000 for the additional child credit. So on a $25,000 income with $2600 in withholding she gets back $8,333. Add to this her NY return where she had $839 in NY withholding and got a refund of $2,516. Not a bad haul for not making much money and having kids while you're shacked up. Sorry, I should use the politically correct term of co-habitating.

[FDchief]

Right on Puddinhead, I totally agree with your summation. It makes me crazy that we give billions of dollars in foreign aid, then have to go in and take it back militarily from them later. Like Iraq for example. Then we pay billions to rebuild what we destroyed, yet do they repay any of that infrastructure cost? Nope. My Dad always told me that charity begins at home. Let's take some of the money we ship overseas and put it to good use in the Social Security and Medicare programs. Our aging citizens deserve it. Times are tough at home, let's cut these ridiculous spending practices and balance the budget....LOL.

As far as paying taxes; I totally agree with a flat tax. If EVERYONE paid a 10% flat tax on every dollar made, and completely eliminate deductions, then the good old USA would have more money than it needs, and us regular folks would have more money in our pockets. And, we could get rid of that awful spring tax day! I understand what spurred the need for deductions in the past, but I believe as Bob Dylan "times, they are a changing", and we all need to think outside the box.

Now back to dreaming about better things, like summer and RVing

[wnytaxman]

Originally Posted by FDchief

As far as paying taxes; I totally agree with a flat tax. If EVERYONE paid a 10% flat tax on every dollar made, and completely eliminate deductions, then the good old USA would have more money than it needs, and us regular folks would have more money in our pockets. And, we could get rid of that awful spring tax day! I understand what spurred the need for deductions in the past, but I believe as Bob Dylan "times, they are a changing", and we all need to think outside the box.

Now back to dreaming about better things, like summer and RVing

I always get a kick out of the cries for a flat tax. Over 75% of all taxes are paid by the top 5% of all taxpayers. If you go to a flat tax, who do you think will bear the brunt of that tax? Let me give you a clue....the guy on the top would see his taxes go down so where do you think that leaves the guy in the middle?

[Rick Long]

And we'll be supporting her and her two kids next year whiles she's in federal prison for tax fraud!!!!

[wildtoad]

Never fear, they will still develop a scheme so that half the country doesn't pay any taxes such as omiting the first $X from the flat tax. I think a consumption tax alternative deserves proper consideration. Taxing income is just plain wrong whether it be from labor or investments. People who make a lot of money spend a lot. People who don't make much don't spend much. a 5% sales tax on a $300k motorhome generates a big number. 5% on a $6k used car not so much. The more affluent still pay a much bigger bill.

No tax forms, No IRS saves billions just from these going away.

[a k]

NAH. The people who make a lot of money figure out how to move it around so it isn't taxed.

[wildtoad]

That's why you collect taxes at the point of sale. No need to offshore monies, no need to file false tax returns (aren't any). You get every dime of your paycheck and then YOU decide what to be taxed on by choosing what to spend. Just a thought.

Tom