The Importance Of Tax Structure In The United States

Throughout the entire existence of any form of government, there has always been taxes. Most of the time (if not all), people hate taxes. With this being said, the United States has adopted a progressive tax since its very existence. We believe that if our nation is placed under a flat tax system, our economy will operate more effectively. If we incorporate a flat tax system we will be able to ensure fairness among all citizens, eliminate tax loopholes, and allow opportunities for business expansion. With this being said, we will be examining the strengths and weaknesses about the flat tax system and how it has been used into practice.

The current tax code for the United States is almost 74,000 pages long. Or to put that into a different light: About 116 copies of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. It is small wonder that a few of the announced candidates for President of the United States, have again begun to kick the tires on the topic of a Flat Tax. But is a flat tax actually a solution to our country’s growing tax complexity? What are the potential economic effects of a flat tax (both positive and negative)? Finally, is a flat tax even a viable solution? In short, will it work? As a concept, a flat tax is spectacular. Simplicity at its finest. As a fiscal policy, I believe that same simplicity must be examined and inspected closely.

The American government has struggled with the issue of taxes and the budget for over a hundred years. Class conflict, adversarial political parties, and convoluted economic philosophies have resulted in a never-ending debate over taxation. The New York Times newspaper article, “Senate Panel Vote Backs Budget Plan”, from June 1993, discusses the current feelings of the time in regards to the budget and taxation. Moreover, the article mentions factors such as democrat-republican debate, trickle down economics, and high verse low taxes for the middle class. The issues discussed in this 1993 article differ only slightly from the taxation conversation of today. However, now in 2011, we face a budget crisis that threatens the American economy

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

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.

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

Republicans and Democrats historically have found it difficult to agree on many policy issues, and taxation represents another area of disagreement. Each party’s ideology partially explains why they take a different approach to taxation and furthermore alludes to the different coalitions present in each party. Democrats traditionally favor higher taxes, while Republicans feel as though raising taxes is inefficient. The past twenty years illustrate these two stances, and each party clearly has a history of rhetoric and policy preferences to confirm this. Each president or presidential candidate from each party has reflected a position consistent with the party’s overall stance, and this in turn explains why each party has had trouble coming to an agreement over tax policy. Furthermore, other policy issues play a role in taxation policy for both parties. Specifically social welfare and government programs correlate with taxation policy, and each party has an entirely different view on how such programs should be operated. With a fundamental difference in ideology and a different set of interests, Republicans gravitate towards less taxation while Democrats favor higher taxation.

The current federal income tax system in the United States (U.S.) is progressive based on the vertical equity principle. However, the tax code is getting increasingly complex and the wealthy are able to avoid paying taxes through loopholes. Hence, more people are yearning for fairness in taxation. With the looming 2016 presidential election, Senator Rand Paul’s proposal of ‘Fair and Flat Tax’ appears to have the most significant change to the current tax policy and I will now analyze if this proposal will improve the efficiency and equity of the U.S. tax code.

A recent national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center on April 7, 2013 found that 56% of Americans have a negative reaction towards income taxes. For this reason, most presidential candidates of both the Republican and Democratic Party, such as Ben Carson, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, maintain a fixed position on the way they think the current tax code should change. With all the issues and criticism the current American tax code faces there is an ongoing debated on how it should be dealt with. This Paper will explore all four, of the previously stated candidates’ tax plans

Isn't it a shame that our own American companies would rather take jobs from us just to pay a little less tax in another country?  I could never turn my back on our American people for that reason.  I know that the money looks better when you move the company over seas and the wages are so much less and the taxes not as much, but this is our country and our people, we should be supporting our own, and not, other countries.  We are still the largest economic country, but China is not far behind and as we move more companies over seas, we are allowing them to catch up and become the big decision maker of the world.  Not too sure how well that will work out for everyone.

On January 20th President Barack Obama was sworn in again for a second and final time, with his first term done and his Health Care Act “Obama-Care” loosely in place President Obama set his sights on tax reform. His answer to the deficit we as a nation face today was the “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012”. President Obama has thrown his weight behind the middle class, “We have to set priorities. If we want a strong middle class, then our tax code must reflect our values”. His tax policies have shown this to be true, the

Tax reforms have become a major topic for the 2016 presidential candidates. The US taxation system is definitely in need of reformation and it appears that the candidate with the most robust tax principle will ascend to the presidency. Most candidates from both political parties believe that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) needs to be reformed. To woe voters, some candidates such as Carly Fiorina have even promised to condense the tax code to three pages in order to improve its efficiency and remove the loopholes that have been used by interested parties to push for their selfish desires. Others have proposed to oppose any tax increase with others ascertaining that taxes are essential for economic growth. Principles on tax

Policy makers have introduced a solution to the staggering proportion of taxes that Americans spend. The flat tax, based on an idea developed by Professors Robert Hall and Alvin Rabushka of Stanford University to create a fair, simple, and pro-growth tax system (Mitchell 1, 11). There are four basic criteria that make up a flat tax. First is a single low rate on taxable income, the baseline for taxable income would be raised to a certain amount dictated by a personal exemption. Second is simplicity, all Americans would fill out the same postcard-sized form to pay their taxes. Third is the reduction or elimination of deductions, credits, and exemptions, depending

A tax haven is a country that offers foreign corporations and individuals relatively low corporate and income tax rates, with a politically and economically stable environment. Some tax havens are Switzerland, Hong Kong, Bermuda, Ireland, and the Cayman Islands. Although the businesses have moved across seas, the United States forces them to pay the corporate tax. Fortunately for the businesses, it they keep their income and money across seas they do not have to the pay the American corporate tax, Unfortunately this is ghastly for the United States Government businesses keep their products and profits over seas.

Tax benefits – The corporate taxes for different Cantons of Switzerland range between 8% and 20%. This is very low compared to the 30% tax slab in India.