The Argument Of Federal Progressive Income Tax

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.

The federal and state governments provide the American citizens with all of the basic necessities within our communities and society that is taken for granted. Programs responsible for assistance in times of need, providing a quality standard of living, and maintaining the strongest military in the world costs incomprehensible amounts of money and could never exist without taxes from the American people. Taxes are payments made by individuals and businesses to support the government and its services. The constitution grants that congress “shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises and to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the people”. Taxes paid by Americans redistribute

The first proposal to impose an income tax on Americans occurred during the War of 1812. After two years of war, the federal government had accumulated a whopping $100 million of debt. To fund the war against Britain, the government doubled the rates of its major source of revenue, customs duties on imports, which obstructed trade and ended up yielding less revenue than the previous lower rates. At the height of the war, excise taxes were imposed on goods and commodities, housing, slaves and land were taxed. Finally when the war ended in 1816, these taxes were abolished. A high tariff was then passed to retire the accumulated war debt. Thankfully, the notion of an income tax was conquered (Young, 2004). However, the thought of the income tax reappeared as an idea to fund the Union armies in the war to prevent the secession of the Confederacy. The war was expensive, costing on average $1,750,000 a day. Struggling to meet these expenses, the Republican Congress borrowed heavily, doubled tariff rates, sold off public lands, imposed a maze of licensing fees, increased old excise tax rates and created new excise taxes. But none of this was enough to fund the debt (Young, 2004)..

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

"The most perennially political issues in the United States is the question of how much Americans should be taxed. Indeed, discounted over taxes was one of the major motivating factors in the revolution that established the United States as an independent nation"("Extending Tax Cuts", 1). Since taxes are one of the biggest topics in politics, there is always going to be two sides of the subject, and Taxes will always strike controversy in our country. The topic of having the rich pay more in tax has a deep history to consider, and there will always be both supporters and critics who continue to debate this topic.

Constitutionally, the government has the right to tax its citizens. The idea of the states working together to defend against enemies and for the general welfare of the

Today, the federal government controls unrestricted means to execute whatsoever the elected official desire, without reverence for the Constitution the aforementioned vanished gradually. Common people are not knowledgeable that the United States in 1776 did not have an income tax, and in 1913; a perpetual income tax was inflicted upon the people. In actual fact, the Constitution disallowed an income tax. For longer than a century, the leadership endured completely without proceeds from wages. Formerly, the U.S. government performed by means of tariffs from imported products and excise taxes required at the fabricating point of domestic commodities.

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.

Taxes have always been a contentious issue of debate in the United States; furthermore it is exacerbated by the specific philosophy of individuals, states, and regions. Too be clearer, nobody enjoys paying taxes, however it is the cost we pay for having civilization. Nevertheless, selfishness creeps in to many individuals who feel no particular benefit. Taxes have a real way of polarizing many people from different socio-economic backgrounds, because a tax is inexorably linked to a person’s belief-system. For instance, in the context of social welfare policy liberals are inclined to feel that the tax-burden should be heaped on individuals who have benefited the most from “the system”. On the other hand, we have conservatives who feel they did not receive any support, and all that is necessary is hard work and perseverance to succeed. I am not suggesting either one is correct; it is only a simple illustration to show the relation between pocketbook and personal belief. I hope studying the tax structures of New Jersey and Alabama will give me insight they both reconcile their political beliefs with their individual tax structures.

There is an ominous shadow hanging over the American people threatening to consume our freedoms, wealth, and the very sanity that holds our nation together. America is a nation born from revolution against unjust taxation from a government that does not hear the voice of those who pay the taxes. Today this nation is threatened by the same oppression that incited a revolution and gave birth to one of the greatest democracies in history of the world. The accumulated debt of America and its people is without rival in the modern world, and threatens to tear this nation apart. The only way to deal with the rising debt of a nation is to tax its people, like the Federal Income Tax. Many question the Federal income tax, asking if this is a

In America, we enjoy freedoms that we often take for granted. We have the power to decide things for ourselves, such as our leaders, our rights, and our liberties. We have the ability to debate and evaluate the effectiveness and the relevance of a law or bill, and we must use this power when it comes to the methods of taxation. Currently, the US uses a progressive income tax as its means to raise revenue. Deborah Lee and Richard A. Grant, in “Counterpoint: Expanding Sales Taxes Helps the Rich, Hurts the Poor,” believe that a progressive income tax is the fairest and most constructive ways to fund the government, and that such a tax benefits the poor more than a sales tax.

The Bible unequivocally commands believers in Christ to submit to the human authorities that God has placed over us. One facet of this submission to authority involves dutifully paying our taxes. Indeed, Paul enjoins, "For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed" (Romans 13:6-7). Because God's Word never changes, this tenet undoubtedly still applies to every follower of Christ living in America today. While I do believe that we as Christians must faithfully pay our taxes due to the government

The issue of federal income tax policy has been one of hot debate and controversy for many years. Discussions and arguments on the issue have been presented on the floors of Congress, in the United States Supreme Court, used by politicians as political platforms, broadcasted in televised debates, and discussed around the dinner table of American families of various socioeconomic backgrounds for years. The Federal Government of the United States of America, like any governing body whether it be at a national, state, or local level, works (for lack of a better word) to generate revenue to make possible the funding of many public programs and services and repayment of national debt. Of course, the easiest

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

For most Americans dreading Tax time is something we all have in common. We spend many hours focusing on filling out forms while trying to decipher the instructions and tax regulations. While completing these forms and submitting them to the IRS we all become fully aware of just how much money we are actually putting into federal funds each year. This amplified awareness as you may assume has caused a flood of suggestions on how to improve the way our government should collect funds. This begins our discussion on whether the United States should replace Income Tax with a Sales Tax.