Tax Reform - GOP's Next Congressional Failure?

[Grand58742]

It's very simple.

Five gallons of gas, delayed igniter, all the current US code on taxes. Start over.

Way, way, way too many loopholes and deferred situations and exemptions and whatnot to really get a good "reform" going. How to fix it? Plain and simple...

Start by making six brackets. $0.01 - $15K, $15K-35K, $35K-50, $50K-100, $100K-150, $150K+ of taxable income.

Bracket 1 - 5%
Bracket 2 - 10%
Bracket 3 - 15%
Bracket 4 - 20%
Bracket 5 - 25%
Bracket 6 - 30%

Zero exemptions, deductions, loopholes, credits, nothing. All income is taxable. If you are a US citizen and you earn money, regardless of where it is in the world, you pay taxes on it. None of this offshore sheltering nonsense. If you want to give up your US citizenship to avoid taxes, go for it. But you permanently give up that right and no visa shall be issued allowing you back into the country for any reason. You choose between your citizenship and playing the system that has been played for far too long.

No death taxes either. If States and local counties/cities want tax breaks and loopholes, let the individual citizens decide.

You want fair? There's fair. Take lawyers and accountants out of the equation and start fresh. Furthermore, reform welfare/unemployment benefits to the point where no work over a period of time equals no income. And stop making it pay better not to work rather than to work. Honestly, there's work in this nation to be had. But we've managed to convince the upcoming generation they are "better" than manual labor. The world needs ditch diggers, Danny. And just because you got your degree in Micronesian Historical Studies and can't find a job doesn't mean you get to live your life on my dime.

Turn unemployment/DHS type places into a works retraining program. You can't find a job and are in $100,000 debt from college loans? Here's a list of places that need workers and here's your list of schools to attend to change that paradigm that we'll pay for. Oh, you're only making $15 an hour starting out? Well son, learn to live within your means for a change.

ETA: Forgot to add in getting rid of payroll taxes. Businesses are taxed at the same rates on income as individuals.

[ABNAK]

My wife and I are D.I.N.K. We are in the neighborhood of ~ $140K combined gross. We don't itemize as our mortgage is an 8-year with like 2.99% APR and we pay extra each month, so not enough mortgage interest to write off. If it looks like we will pay more taxes I will be against this plan. Patriotism and my "fellow countrymen" ends at my wallet.

[Eurodriver]

Patriotism and my "fellow countrymen" ends at my wallet.

Do you own any machine guns?

[ABNAK]

Do you own any machine guns?

Negative, no NFA items.

[austinN4]

My wife and I are D.I.N.K. We are in the neighborhood of ~ $140K combined gross. We don't itemize as our mortgage is an 8-year with like 2.99% APR and we pay extra each month, so not enough mortgage interest to write off. If it looks like we will pay more taxes I will be against this plan. Patriotism and my "fellow countrymen" ends at my wallet.

With the house being paid off, the biggest deduction I have is my real estate taxes, which in Travis County are pretty stiff. Looks like that will go away. Sure gonna hate to lose it. Of course it depends on what I get in FIT reductions, if anything.

[Eurodriver]

With the house being paid off, the biggest deduction I have is my real estate taxes, which in Travis County are pretty stiff. Looks like that will go away. Sure gonna hate to lose it. Of course it depends on what I get in FIT reductions, if anything.

The benefit, I see, is that it will force municipalities to reconsider raising rates and consider reducing them. Dems play the long game, so should we.

If your property taxes are $4000 and your current tax rate is 25%, that is $1,000 a year you are saving in income taxes by that write off. So your property taxes are really $3,000. Municipalities know this and are able to get away with taxing their citizens to run social programs. States are the same way.

[Averageman]

I'm up for everyone paying something.
No one should get more back than they paid in.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

I don't have as much problem with the EITC. Look at it as the way lesser of three evils. At least they have a job, they are earning something and it is like a block grant at the individual level- no social program structure to soak up resources and determine if you are eligble for what is left over.

[ABNAK]

I don't have as much problem with the EITC. Look at it as the way lesser of three evils. At least they have a job, they are earning something and it is like a block grant at the individual level- no social program structure to soak up resources and determine if you are eligble for what is left over.

This makes the assumption that no one getting the EITC is receiving any other .gov bennies like SNAP.

Like I said, I'd tax a welfare check if it was up to me (I know that is an oxymoron). That said, even cutting them the slack of no federal income taxes owed is "enough". No way can I wrap my mind around paying them anything when they didn't contribute anything. I listed the cost of the EITC earlier in this thread. It's no small amount.

As of 2012 the EITC spent $56 billion of other taxpayer's money.

[skywalkrNCSU]

I'm up for everyone paying something.
No one should get more back than they paid in.

Economics tells us that will only encourage sucking on the proverbial government teet for longer. If you remove the incentive for someone to work then they won’t. There needs to be a tiered approach that rewards people on government assistance for making more money so that they can, and are encouraged, to get off of said government assistance. Government assistance isn’t going anywhere so saying we should take it away is a pipe dream, given that we should look at how we can incentivize people to get themselves off of it.