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AllTruth says

Tax Returns For All Americans Should Be Size of 3"x5" Index Card: 12% Flat Tax

You'd have to completely eliminate the military in order to accomplish that, and you'd still fall short.

Also, the progressive tax rate is by far the simplest part of the tax code. Why not just eliminate all deductions and keep the progressive tax rate? There is no connection to simplifying taxes and using a flat rate.

There should be no tax at all on productive work, only a tax on non-productive rent seeking.

rando says

There should be no tax at all on productive work, only a tax on non-productive rent seeking.

Rent seeking and consumption of public resources, and these taxes should be progressive. The more land you own, the higher your tax rate.

The top 0.1% always seeks to "simplify" the tax code in such a way that they will pay EVEN LESS than they currently do. How grand of them! Dan8267 is of course correct: progressive taxation is the simplest part of the tax code.

It is all the crap and special treatments for rich people that makes the tax code complicated. People like Mitt Romney and other so-called Private Equity operators.

PS: The IRS is incredibly efficient and with a budget of 10.9B collects 3.1T in taxes. That is a cost of 0.35% of the amount collected. Show me any private tax-collecting enterprise, including VISA, MasterCard or any bank that has an overhead of only 0.35% of revenue. It does not exist. Not that facts ever stopped tax-haters from lying or misrepresenting the facts. Government waste, my ass.

#AllTruth==AllLies

Say the value of all land in the USA is $14.488 trillion: http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/12/20/value_of_all_land_in_the_united_states.html

Then to collect $3.1 trillion in taxes, that land needs to be taxed at 3.1 / 14.488 = 21.4%

If the owner defaults and someone else agrees to pay the tax, then they get title to the land.

No income tax, no sales tax, no hiding anything (land is hard to hide).

It's not like anyone is going to produce less land because of the tax rate. No one produces land at all.

It's simple, fair, and by far the most economically efficient tax: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgism

rando says

Say the value of all land in the USA is $14.488 trillion: http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/12/20/value_of_all_land_in_the_united_states.html

Then to collect $3.1 trillion in taxes, that land needs to be taxed at 3.1 / 14.488 = 21.4%

The value of land would crash in that scenario. The taxes collected would crash with it. Not a solution.
15% and 25% income tax with no deductions would work.

I laugh when people claim a 12% flat tax won't generate enough taxes to MORE THAN FULLY FUND *EFFICIENT* GOVERNMENT.

The problem is that likely more than 60% of tax revenues (not to mention debt borrowing) is wasted due to idiocy.

Just one (of thousands) example which drive this fact of total government fraud/fleecing/ineptitude home:

Exhibit A: The useless, dogshit F-35s (that are literally worse than 40 year old A10s, F16s and F18s):

"The Pentagon plans to acquire roughly 2,400 of the radar-evading F-35s in coming decades, at a cost of more than $400 billion.'

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/07/14/pentagons-big-budget-f-35-fighter-cant-turn-cant-climb-cant-run/

If government were run as efficiently as well-run businesses, we'd have no national debt, BETTER services, and more prosperity, at literally 40% of the present annual pork-laden, idiotic, bloated, corrupt budget.

Strategist says

The value of land would crash in that scenario. The taxes collected would crash with it. Not a solution.

The % rate would be adjusted upward, just like your home property taxes are when values go down.

zzyzzx is sad says

Strategist says

The value of land would crash in that scenario. The taxes collected would crash with it. Not a solution.

The % rate would be adjusted upward, just like your home property taxes are when values go down.

The land prices would crash even more, creating a downward spiral. Not a solution.

AllTruth says

I laugh when people claim a 12% flat tax won't generate enough taxes to MORE THAN FULLY FUND *EFFICIENT* GOVERNMENT.

The problem is that likely more than 60% of tax revenues (not to mention debt borrowing) is wasted due to idiocy.

Just one (of thousands) example which drive this fact of total government fraud/fleecing/ineptitude home:

Exhibit A: The useless, dogshit F-35s (that are literally worse than 40 year old A10s, F16s and F18s):

"The Pentagon plans to acquire roughly 2,400 of the radar-evading F-35s in coming decades, at a cost of more than $400 billion.'

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/07/14/pentagons-big-budget-f-35-fighter-cant-turn-cant-climb-cant-run/

If government were run as efficiently as well-run businesses, we'd have no national debt, BETTER services, and more prosperity...

The F-35 is the tip of the pigs-feeding-at-the-taxpayer-trough spear.

There's conservatively 3.8 trillion in the federal budget, but if one includes "off sheet" or "hidden" expenditures, it's likely closer to 4.4 trillion thanks to the magic of fraudulent/government accounting. It would be easy for rational, smart people to shave 25% to 40% off the federal budget as much of it goes to pork, unions (there are 4.6 million federal workers JUST in the Washington D.C.-Maryland-Virginia Beltway, and there are 23 million federal, state, county and city employees all together).

But going back to the F-35, it's such a terrible warplane, that it literally has negative net-value.-

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: One of America's Worst Fighter Jets Ever
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-f-35-joint-strike-fighter-one-americas-w

Strategist says

The land prices would crash even more, creating a downward spiral.

That would be self-limiting, because free land would attract people willing to pay the taxes to use it.

Anyway, if you want to stay in the country, you'd have to be on some land somewhere.

I like Trump's corporate and personal tax plans, but we need to close all the loopholes that favor the rich. Also, we need a very high tax rate for the super rich...I'm talking like 50% for someone making over $5M per year.

You'll be glad those loop holes are there when you're a struggling small business owner and need those deductions and loopholes. On a smaller scale but you will be glad they are there. These rules were designed to help stuggling businesses. Just they have been used by underserving large global corporations. Worth billions.

If they're struggling small business owners, then they're not rich. I said eliminate loopholes that favor the rich.

Ironman says

You do realize if you add up all the taxes you pay now (Fed, State, Local, Sales, Utilities, Gas and other hidden taxes), it comes to close to 40% - 50% NOW for the average person.

I know, and I'm over-simplifying. If I were Prez, I would do the analysis first of what spending is truly needed at the federal level. Then, I would implement the 15/25 tax rates and make up any shortfalls with an additional multi-millionaire tax, if needed. I would privatize as much as where it makes sense, reduce our military presence around the world, deport illegal criminals, promote free market health care/insurance, etc.

Ironman says

If Trump can go in and do those two things, a 10% tax rate would be more than enough to pay the bills after he takes a knife to the budget and restructures.

I would like to believe that, but I'm a realist/pessimist when it comes to the state of our government. Cutting may be easy in some places, but I bet it would be very hard in others once you look under the covers.

The actual, effective tax rate for even moderate income taxpayers is likely over 30%, and for those in the top 15% (not 1% mind you), it's probably likely 45%.

Federal Income Tax

Corporate Taxes

State Income Tax

Property Taxes (I pay $10,500 per year on a 3,400 sq ft home)

Sales Taxes

Dividends Taxes

Personal Property Taxes

FICA (wage-earners)

Capital Gains Taxes

Gasoline Taxes

Utility Taxes

What am I missing? There's more.

rando says

land is hard to hide

Rich families like the Blacks have found a way...

www.youtube.com/embed/-gVw2AzYA3E

freespeechforever says

What am I missing? There's more.

Death tax.

Ironman says

Let that sink in for a minute, take your GROSS pay and give over 35% right off the top to the government before you even see it. Are you happy with the services you receive for that chunk of money "robbed" from you??

Hell no. We are getting taxed to death. Literally.