Summary: The Federal Income Tax System

The current tax policy in the United States is very confusing and it is very costly for our government to administer it. It is in the best interest of our country and its citizens to revise or replace our current tax policy.

One brother has 4 cookies. Another brother has 2 cookies. The brother with 4 cookies did 2x the work to get these cookies. Big brother come along and takes 3 of the first brother’s cookies but only 1 of the second because it’s only fair they have the same amount. How does the first brother feel? This analogy shows the current progressive system of tax and one reason it is flawed and unfair. If America had a flat tax it would leave the first brother with 3 cookies and the second with 1 and 1/2. Sound more fair? This is why America should have a modified flat tax system because it is more fair to the people, it will promote economic growth, and it will make paying taxes easier.

People do not enjoy talking about taxes because they are too political, confusing, and depressing. It is no secret that the American tax code is a mess and something many economists describe as too broken to fix. Despite this, politicians have never stopped from trying to “fix” the code, yet they have had very little success. The U.S. Government’s tax code currently comprises “more than 67,000 pages of complexities” (Boortz, Linder, & Woodall 14). The Americans for Fair Taxation (AFFT) was founded in 1995 with one goal: create the simplest and best tax reform plan that would work in the modern market and economy. The AFFT’s best solution was a bill which they promptly called the FairTax.

The tax policy in the United States is very confusing. When the tax policy was originally written in 1913 it was four hundred pages. Now, over the past ninety one years, that tax policy has evolved to over 72,000 pages. Since the tax code has become so lengthy and nearly impossible to understand, the topic of tax reform has been in the minds of many. Although, most barely think about tax reform until tax season. It is a controversial subject due to the impact a change in tax code would have on the American people. The two most popular and widely known stakeholders in this debate are the two major political parties in the United States, the Democrats and the Republicans. The two parties share absolutely no common ground on the subject of

The issue of taxes and different tax systems is arguably one of the most important issues to many Americans. Having an effective Tax Code is definitely important in maintaining a healthy economy; however, there are different perspectives when it comes to the rates and percentages that citizens pay.

In my opinion as to whether or not the current federal income tax structure is fair for most Americans is that it is not fair. The following information will provide support for my decision. The main federal tax brackets are for single individuals, married individuals filing separately, married individuals filing as a couple and individuals filing as a head of household. In the financial year 2014, the lowest tax bracket paid a rate of 10% on income up to $9,075 while the highest bracket paid an average rate of 36.4% ($406,751 and above). Most individuals pay taxes across several tax brackets, and as a result, they end up with the progressive tax structure. In the current progressive federal income structure, individuals with a lower

With the presidential elections coming up, different tax policies are being debated between the candidates. Whether it is proposed by a Democratic or a Republican presidential candidate, there have been many possible solutions presented on how to reform the current tax code. Focusing specifically on four candidates, two from the Democratic Party, and two from the Republican Party, I will compare and contrast their respective tax proposals. While the Democratic candidates generally agree with President Obama’s current tax code, all four candidates are looking to reform it in some way in order to, in their own eyes, better the current tax code affecting today’s citizens.

“I love paying my income tax! This tax system is so easy to understand!” said no United States citizen, ever. No one has ever said this because it is highly unlikely that no one actually enjoys struggling with the complexity of the current income tax system in the United States. The concept of contributing to the good of the community, county, state, and nation through taxation is not new, nor is it generally opposed by American citizens. Most tax paying citizens do not take issue with paying for police and fire protection, roads, and national security with tax dollars. However, what they do take issue with is the fact that the current tax code is a complicated nightmare. It is a bureaucratic mess of rules, regulations, and perhaps even infringements upon personal rights. Because of the complexity of the current tax code, the United States should implement a flat tax system for personal and corporate income tax to ensure consistent and fair taxation and to render the tax code as more user-friendly.

In January of 2005, President George W. Bush appointed a bipartisan committee to propose new income tax policies; they were referred to as the “President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform”. The goal of the panel was to advise new options in an attempt to make filing of the United States personal income tax simpler. The made a statement about the difficulty that normal citizens have when filing their tax returns, “For millions of Americans, the annual rite of filing taxes has become a headache of burdensome record-keeping, lengthy instructions, and complicated schedules, worksheets, and forms – often requiring multiple

Our current income tax system today is very complex, unfair, inhibits saving, investment and job creation, imposes a heavy burden on families, and weakens the integrity of the democratic process. It can't be fixed and must be replaced. The U.S. income tax code is a long and complex system. The income tax system is so complex; the IRS publishes 480 tax forms and 280 forms to explain the 480 forms. The IRS sends out eight billion pages of forms and instructions each year. The administrative costs of the tax system far exceed those borne directly by the IRS. Each year Americans devote 5.4 billion hours complying with the tax code, which is more time than it takes to build every car, truck, and van produced in the U.S.

Tax policy is among the most influential drivers of economic development. Naturally, it’s also one of the most debated and pressing issues facing policymakers in the United States. Today, the U.S. federal tax system is generally progressive, meaning that the total federal tax constitutes a larger percentage of income for higher-income individuals and households than it does for those earning lower incomes (Piketty and Saez, 2006). However, not all individual taxes are equally progressive. Some are even regressive. For instance, payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicaid are regressive (Piketty and Saez, 2006). But the taxes responsible for generating a majority of government revenue are the individual and corporate income taxes. Both of these taxes are progressive, which yields an overall tax system that is

The United States economy, as known by all, is not in its best shape. One way in which the government gains money is by imposing taxes on people. There are many taxes that are placed on different things that everyone needs or already has. The United States uses a taxation system which is criticized by many. The system used in Progressive Tax; however, many people believe the system of Flat Tax, or Proportional Tax, should be the system that is used for taxing.

The United States tax system is in complete disarray. Republicans and Democrats agree that the current tax code is complex, unfair, and costly. The income tax system is so complex; the IRS publishes 480 tax forms and 280 forms to explain the 480 forms (Armey 1). The main reason the tax system is so complex is because of the special preferences such as deductions and tax credits. Complexity in the current tax system forces Americans to spend 5.4 billion hours complying with the tax code, which is more time than it takes to manufacture every car, truck and van produced in the United States (Armey 1). Time is not the only thing that is lost with the current tax system; Americans also lose

The current income tax system is very complex. It is so complex; that the IRS publishes 480 tax forms then they publish another 280 forms that explains the 480 forms. “The IRS sends out eight billion pages of forms and instructions each year, which, if laid end to end, would circle the earth 28 times. Nearly 300,000 trees are cut down each year to produce the paper on which IRS forms and instructions are printed” (Armey, Shelby). The main reason the tax code is so complex is the proliferation of deductions, credits and other special preferences in the tax law. Taxpayers with similar incomes can pay vastly different amounts in taxes because of these loopholes. This uneven treatment of taxpayers is

In the early years of our nation, the federal government levied very few taxes. They got by with just the taxes from alcohol, carriages, and some basic household goods like sugar and tobacco. Sales taxes were placed on various luxury items when we went to war against Great Britain in 1812 to cover the costs. In 1817, with Great Britain defeated, Congress did away with all internal taxes and used tariffs on exports to fund the government. In 1861, to raise funds for the Civil War, Congress passed a bill assessing a 3% income tax. Evidently misery loves company and the Confederate states decided to follow suit and enact their own version as well. By the time the war was over, in 1872, the populace had begun to show their displeasure with an income tax and the political class eliminated it yet again. Then came the panic of 1893 and the income tax returned. As it turned out, this 2% tax on incomes over $4000 (that President Grover Cleveland called unconstitutional) started a chain of events that would eventually culminate in a constitutional amendment and our current tax system.