Standing on My Soapbox: The American Tax System

This is the first of what I hope to be many articles voicing my opinions on what is going on in the world today. I am a conservative southerner born and raised in the Bible belt so you can probably already tell where I stand on many of the controversial issues that this country faces. If you don't share my views that is your prerogative and I don't wish for you to change your mind based on anything that I say (type). In these articles I will address things in the news or anything that I have on my mind at the time. I hope you enjoy.

Since it is now April 15, the infamous day on which our taxes are due, I thought it would be appropriate to address the tax system that we face. According to an article in USA Today on 11/16/2004 there are over 60,000 pages of the federal tax code (and that was 4 years ago). I don't know about you, but I probably haven't read 60,000 pages of information in my life. This, in my opinion, is ridiculous. According to www.irs.gov in 2004 there were approximately 115000 IRS employees. Now assuming that each employee makes $40,000 a year, which is probably a great underestimate, that adds up to $4.6 Billion. Now, in the grand scheme of things, that isn't actually that much. Total revenues from www.cbo.gov in 2006 are approximately $2.4 Trillion. In my opinion we should go to the flat sales tax. This hits everyone equally. Our current tax system penalizes people for being successful, which is the American Dream. Under a flat sales tax if you are successful and don't want to spend any of your money then you will have beaten the tax system. However, I don't know of a billionaire that can go without his yacht, private jet, and exotic car. I personally cannot blame anyone for wanting to enjoy the fruits of their labor, which will result in the taxing of such items. This will also eliminate the inheritance tax, which currently taxes an inheritance that you might receive from a relative or other source.

What about corporate taxes you ask. I am not familiar with many of these laws, but it does seem that the flat sales tax would affect them too unless they make every thing that they use to make their product. In that case, bravo, you are a real captain of industry and the antitrust lawyers are on their way.

There are organizations that dispute the legality of income taxes. According to some of these organizations not all of the states ratified the Sixteenth Amendment, which I don't doubt, but it'll be difficult to prove. I am not going to voice my opinion either way on this issue. I don't like taxes, but I do realize that they are necessary to an extent.

Another thing that irks me is that under our current system it is possible to get a bonus from your job and actually bring home less money than you would have without it. In this instance the bonus must put you into the next tax bracket, so check with your accountant before accepting a bonus. By the way, the sales tax would allow you to enjoy your bonus.

Again, I don't want to ruffle feathers or make anyone mad. These are just my opinions on things and if you don't like them, then please feel free to not read anything else that I write. I just need a place to vent and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading.