RE: Ted Cruz: ‘Abolish the IRS’
Nice to hear that but let’s think for a moment... WE STILL NEED A REVENUE COLLECTING AGENCY.
So, put your thinking caps on and PROPOSE a system that de-fangs the IRS, making it IMPOSSIBLE to harass ordinary citizens, yet, allow revenue collection.
Don’t just shout slogans. Slogans sound nice but it won’t resonate without a good counter-proposal.
A flat tax would clear out 75% of the IRS.
Let's read the article for a moment.
Excerpt:
A National Flat Tax on income/gains, administered by the States, who collect and send the money on to Mordor.
Tariffs.
And of course, resduce the size of the fedgov to what is mandated in the Constitution, they won’t need anywhere near as much money.
How 'bout a simple form with just 2 questions:
1. How much money did you make last year (include W-2, capital gains, cash, etc.)
2. What is 1.23 times the amount from question #1?
Make a check for that amount payable to "US Treasury" and mail to...
That would be a 23% flat tax which seems reasonable.
In the legislation establishing this, there should be a provision that the percent of tax rate cannot be raised without 70% concurrence in the House and Senate.
No longer would Warren Buffet pay a lower rate than his secretary. Everybody pays the same rate. Period.
That’s what I find myself shouting whenever I hear Levin harping on eliminating the IRS.
A flat tax is one idea. I don’t know though what people like Levin, I.e., people with the ability to effect change, are suggesting as a replacement. Which gets me angry. Because its nothing more than empty slogans. Designed to get ratings (or votes).
Call me cynical. This is what I get though unless someone starts talking alternatives and not just feel good platitudes (that everyone agrees with, at least every conservative) like “we should return to our constitutional roots!”
I mean we have to have an alternative suggestion if we want to be serious about eliminating the IRS.
We spend trillions of dollars on accountants and tax preparing. Why not a simple tax system based on sales tax. Or a flat tax. I don’t care.... Set it at 20% and that’s it.
Here's a solution: A sales tax to be paid by consumers, not by businesses or any other organization, and collected by the states. The states would electronically transfer the collected sales taxes to the Treasury. This has some interesting consequences if federal government doesn't respect the 10th Amendment.
I do not think the IRS is involved in collecting excise taxes, other agencies collect and deposit into the Treasury. Check out Fair Tax. I do not advocate the Fair Tax because of the 'prebate', which is another form of wealth distribution. But there are a lot of good ideas in the Fair Tax.
How did we collect revenue before the IRS existed? I really don’t know. But I know we did it somehow.
National Sales Tax. Retail outlets already collect taxes in most states.
Never happen of course, because it is hard to make it graduated. Even if it did become law, it would be only a short time before there would be a new tax law in addition to the sales tax.
The only real solution is to elect honest politicians, but since a great many of them are lawyers, I doubt that could ever happen.
Yes, totally agree. And policing policy will always be needed even if a consumption tax is installed. Firms collecting sales tax will have to be occasionally audited to keep honest. But the real crime is the Income Tax.
Yep. Nearly half the U.S. population pays nothing in taxes. Over half are dependent upon some form of government largess. Hence, Obamacare, Obamaphones, school breakfast and lunch programs...”midnite basketball.” Abolish the IRS? What are the odds?
That would be the Treasury Department, which did just fine on its own before 1913.
Do it at the state level. States get to invest the money collected only in interest bearing accounts, they take their cut in interest payments which will pay for the program and the fed gets the rest.