Adopting a Single Rate Flat Tax System
The U.S. Should Adopt a Single Rate Flat Tax System
The one topic that has continually been a major topic in the United States is the topic of taxes. It has been a key component of political campaigns at all levels since the political scene has been of interest to me. There are two major tax systems that are viable options in the U.S. today. There is the federal individual income tax system and a single rate flat tax system. The U.S. currently uses the federal individual income tax system. This type of tax system got its start in 1864 after the American Civil War (‘The New Income Tax,’ Dunbar). It was the second tax ever used by the U.S. and was the first tax used during a time of peace. The tax system has continually become more complicated over the years and has become what it is today. The single rate flat tax system is a proposal that has been pushed for several years, especially since the recent recession that has hampered the United States economy. The federal individual income tax system is such a complicated system, that millions of jobs in the financial sector specifically deal with taxes, not to mention a government agency that overlooks this system. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), is the governing body for all issues dealing with taxes and the main focus of IRS agents is to search out those that try to defraud the system. The system is so complex that there are several loopholes to avoid or lower ones taxes or possibly, if one is lucky enough, escape with out paying a single tax dollar. The main argument against the federal individual income tax system is that the tax burden falls to the highest income brackets. In other terms, it means that those that produce more income are taxed at higher rates forcing them to pay more in taxes. “In 1979, 35 percent of taxpayers filing joint returns faced marginal rate brackets of 28 percent or higher, and 13 percent were in marginal rate brackets of 37 percent or higher (‘Why Not A True Flat
The one topic that has continually been a major topic in the United States is the topic of taxes. It has been a key component of political campaigns at all levels since the political scene has been of interest to me. There are two major tax systems that are viable options in the U.S. today. There is the federal individual income tax system and a single rate flat tax system. The U.S. currently uses the federal individual income tax system. This type of tax system got its start in 1864 after the American Civil War (‘The New Income Tax,’ Dunbar). It was the second tax ever used by the U.S. and was the first tax used during a time of peace. The tax system has continually become more complicated over the years and has become what it is today. The single rate flat tax system is a proposal that has been pushed for several years, especially since the recent recession that has hampered the United States economy. The federal individual income tax system is such a complicated system, that millions of jobs in the financial sector specifically deal with taxes, not to mention a government agency that overlooks this system. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), is the governing body for all issues dealing with taxes and the main focus of IRS agents is to search out those that try to defraud the system. The system is so complex that there are several loopholes to avoid or lower ones taxes or possibly, if one is lucky enough, escape with out paying a single tax dollar. The main argument against the federal individual income tax system is that the tax burden falls to the highest income brackets. In other terms, it means that those that produce more income are taxed at higher rates forcing them to pay more in taxes. “In 1979, 35 percent of taxpayers filing joint returns faced marginal rate brackets of 28 percent or higher, and 13 percent were in marginal rate brackets of 37 percent or higher (‘Why Not A True Flat
Bibliography: Browning, E.K., & Browning, J.M. (1985). Why not a true flat rate tax?. Cato Journal, 5(2), Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj5n2/cj5n2-14.pdf Dunbar, C. (1984, October). The new income tax. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1883633. Gjokutaj, E. (n.d.). Flat tax vs. the current tax system. Ezine Articles, Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Flat-Tax-Vs-the-Current-Tax-System&id=3461633 Joint Committee on Taxation, (2008). Overview of the federal tax system as in effect for 2008 (JC-32-08). Washington, DC: Government Pringing Office. Retrieved from http://www.jct.gov/x-32-08.pdf Pascale, C. (2009, July 8). Four reasons for the flat tax [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.suite101.com/content/three-reasons-for-the-flat-tax-a130414