Taxes.. uh.. what are the good for???

Taxes.. uh.. what are the good for???

Okay I pay taxes.. I pay what I think are a lot of taxes..
Taxes I pay:
Federal Income
Medicaid
Social Security
State Income Tax
Local Income Tax
Fees for licensing
Sales Tax
Property Taxes
Hidden taxes (like those on gas, cigarettes, liquor , beer, and fees paid to the state for all sorts of things)

All total I estimate my tax burden to me nearing 60% of my gross income!

I have talked with people about taxes, and the European system of taxation, and they all say.. YES but you know how much the Europeans pay in Tax? The answer is yes, somewhere between 45% and 55%. This still does not come up to my tax burden, and if you think about it, it probably does not come up to yours either.

I have heard some rumblings that we need tax reform, from a flat tax of 5% to 11% for the fed, to a federal sales tax of 27%

I agree that the tax code needs to be made simpler. And that if we are really going to have tax reform it needs to encompass all levels of taxation!
We need reforms in local, state, and federal taxes! And we need them now!

Some suggestions, are:
Make government more accountable for expenditures! There should be a panel that reviews all government expenditures, and if the government cannot do a similar job, for what it could be done for in the private sector, someone needs to be held accountable. (This is already being done to some degree with oversight committees, but not very well in my opinion)
Cost cutting! In private enterprise, if you cannot support yourself using your current methods, you do not magically raise more funds, you cut costs, by being more efficient or dropping projects that are not profitable. Government in all too many cases just raises taxes of fine and fees.
Stop calling Fines and fees, “Fines and Fees” call them Taxes! That is what they are, stop trying to be so cunning, by calling a tax a fine, or a fee.. it is a disgusting practice that if tried in the private sector would end in the demise of the “shady” business.
Easy taxes for the masses! Why should someone who makes less than $100,000 or any one person for that matter, have to hire someone to do their taxes? It should be simple and straight forward. One year I made less than $20,000 but because I have a few “deductions” that I was unsure of how to take, I had to pay someone nearly a weeks take home pay, to do my taxes for me! If you could deduct the cost of tax preparation directly from your tax bill, government would find a way to make it simple. (and in a hurry)
Taxes should be paid to one location for disbursement to the federal , local and State levels. This way you write one check, and then the state, local and federal governments have to fight over how to divvy it up. It makes no since for a family like mine to have make out and file 9 separate tax forms, especially when those 9 forms are so damn confusing!
Stop the cycle of paying more to the government that they are due! This is something I see in the poorer population than anywhere else, and that is the thought that a refund is like free money! It is not, and a government that allows this thinking to go on is only taking advantage of a disadvantaged portion of the population. My step-son (22 years old and poor) Thinks that his refund each year is a great windfall! I try to explain to him that all he has accomplished is to give the government a free loan, but he has been brought up by and is surrounded by poor people that think it is something more than that, that it is in effect a great present from uncle Sam!
Make the theft or unethical deferment of government funds by government employees punishable by death. (okay that one is a little over the top, but I bet it would curb some of the outright thievery by politicians, the first time one got dragged to the guillotine)
Set a fare standard for the states to follow when levying taxes, based on costs, and given resources. The Federal Government should not enforce this, as it is a state’s right to levy taxes on it’s citizens (Constitutionality of this has been tested, so like it or not, the Courts say they do) but if the Feds want to be involved in out day-to-day lives like they seem to be, they should issue a guideline to the states for “Fair Taxation”. The Feds love to see what effects the poor, and tout how they are doing everything they can for the little guy. I got news for you, the tax applied to cigarettes, is one example of the poor having a disproportionate tax burden. There are many others, and many of them are “sin taxes”., but not all, licensing is another. (Why should someone who makes $12,000 a year pay the same for a drivers license that a person making 10x that amount does?) Then on a .gov site each state could be rated on their compliance.

I do not propose to have all of the answers, I am sure that there are persons who are smarter and better educated than me, that could come up with an equitable solution for our tax problems.
As long as we , as American Citizens stand still letting the government do to us and our money as the will , you can be that they will take very advantage that they can. We need to stand up, and tell our officials, that we hired them to do a job for us! And that we think that making the playing field level and equitable for everyone is a TOP PRIORITY!
STOP WASTE SPENDING!
STOP THE INSANE PERSONAL TAX CODE!
STOP TAKING ADVANTAGE OF POOR PEOPLE!
STOP STEALING FROM US! (the little guy)

Here are a few websites that you should visit, I cannot say that I believe that any one of them have the right answer, but it’s a start.

http://www.fairtax.org/ suggests a federal sales tax in place of income tax.
http://www.wordwiz72.com/flattax.html points out pitfalls of flat tax systems / proposals
http://www.ncpa.org/pi/taxes/tax7.html Flat Tax idea central.

http://www.ncpa.org/ba/ba284.html Why all tax payers deserve a break. From Feb. 1999


http://www.house.gov/ To write the House of Reps.
http://www.senate.gov/ To Write the Senate
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ To Write the President.



Do something, and do it right now! Ask your friends to do something, ask strangers you meet to do something, together we can change the system!