Introduction At the beginning of the year tax season rolls in and millions of people rush to prepare their previous year’s financial statements and documents, ready to calculate their tax returns and credits. Currently, thirty-four states use progressive income tax systems, and seven states utilize flat tax systems. The remaining nine states either have no income tax or a “limited income tax” on individuals, taxing only dividend and interest incomes (i.e. AK, FL, NV, SD, TX, WA, WY, NH, TN) (Bell). A progressive tax system is most commonly referred to as a tiered income tax that shifts more of the revenue burden onto the wealthy. Taxation has been a part of human history since the beginning of structured society and was also a controversial topic in the pre-Constitutional Federalist Papers No. 33. In the article, Alexander Hamilton explained that the phrasing of the "Necessary and Proper" clause served as a parameter for the imminent creation of a federal bank. The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States’ Constitution endowed the legislative branch the power to oversee and judge the creation of a taxation system; however, if any abuse of those powers occurred, they would be annulled by the people. To this day, our federal government imposes taxes on its citizens in order to properly run government programs, build public amenities, pay off the national debt, and support the overall well-being of the nation. Because of the benefits of taxation, one would believe that more
America currently has a progressive tax system. This system is identified by the fact that there are percentage brackets which are determined by one’s income, as the income increases so does the percentage of the income being taken out. The progressive tax can be illustrated by a curved line going upwards on a graph plotting income bracket on the x axis and amount of money being taken out on the y axis. The flat tax is the proposed tax which is signified by having one single percentage throughout all income brackets this would look like a straight line on the graph explained above.
The arguments regarding federal progressive income tax has been represented to us through the United States Supreme Court, on the floors of congress, and in media. The revenue from taxes reached the objective of financing wars from the Civil War through World War II. At the same time deteriorating the economy with fewer dollars that could be used on imports, exports, and services (Henchman). Today, the United States deficit is $18,800,241,350,538.12 this is a grand total of 58,405.32 owed by every man, woman, and child (Brown). The legal illusion is presenting the question, is income tax legal? There are Americans today who believe income tax is not legal and stand by their beliefs in a movement that has cost many individuals considerably. I am interviewing such a person, his name is Bobby Ray and the history he presented to me was interesting, and has left me with more questions than answers.
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 federal government puts tax on everything, this allows them to take a percentage of our money away from us and use it for the country. Right now the US in debt and can’t afford to run this country alone. They use our money for several things everyday. However, there are limits to what the can tax such as; they can not tax Church services because it goes against our first ammendment right.
There are three different types of tax systems presented in this article: Progressive income tax, Flat tax, and the Fair Tax. The progressive tax system is what we have in the US and is common in countries across the world. It bases the percentage of income tax you should pay by the amount of income you receive. Basically, if you have a large income then the rate of tax you will pay is larger and, furthermore, if you have a low income you will have a lower rate to pay. Many conservatives dislike this system because it forces the top percentage of taxpayers to pay a majority of the tax revenue. “According to the Tax Foundation, the top 1% of taxpayers have consistently paid more in federal income taxes than the bottom 90% since 2003…” It treats people differently and it allows for
One theory about the use of the progressive taxation is that people or businesses who earn the same or a similar amount of money should be taxed in the same or a similar way. A good example of that theory states that two individuals making $75,000 per year should be taxed the same amount, regardless of how they earned their income. While most countries have some form of progressive taxation, it is usually combined with other taxes, such as a sales tax, and few countries treat all income as exactly the same. This kind of taxation is still in effect today, bigger corporations are taxed more than the smaller mom and pop businesses.
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
“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.
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
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
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.
The article of confederation had not given the power to tax. “To lay and collect taxes, duties imposts and excises, to pay the debt and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the united states”. The purpose of taxies, is
1. What is a progressive tax system? How does it differ from a regressive tax system?
''Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society.'' - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Former U.S. Supreme Court. Throughout the history Americans has been paying taxes. Without tax America would be a third world country. Roads wouldn't be build and public buildings such as school wouldn't be present. Paying taxes is important because it funds resources such as police officers and soldiers.
Every walk of life has to face the music of taxation at one level or another. Taxes are used for many reasons such as stimulating the economy to governing spending. According to Johnson (2005) tax