Politicians have been discussing the possibility of tax reform for at least twenty years now. People are quite interested in hearing about the ways in which their taxes will be reduced or simplified. We are told that a flat tax would be easier to work with and more equitable. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is now being criticized by contenders for the presidency. All of this sounds appealing, yet nothing ever seems to change. How come it doesn’t work? Permit me to begin with an example. An experiment was conducted in 2005 in the state of California with a tax return called ReadyReturn that was similar to a credit card statement. Because the state already had all of your W2s, the information that they had was already filled out, and then it was submitted to the taxpayer to be approved or challenged. There was a 96 percent satisfaction rate among those who utilized it. I was able to save time, money, and worry. There was a lot of resistance to it when it was enlarged to test whether it could be done, and their goal was to halt it. According to the statement, “Leaders in the California legislature blocked a broad-based rollout of this immensely popular improvement in the efficiency of the California tax system because it would hurt the profits of businesses that sold software to make California’s existing and inefficient tax system more efficient” (Republic Lost, Lawrence Lessig). In other words, there are a lot of people who do not want our tax system, which is already difficult and unjust, to be modified. According to the words of Lawrence Lessig, “In order to comprehend the character of the tax law in the United States, it is necessary to comprehend one basic point: the complexity of the tax code is a feature, not a problem…. The more one attempts to simplify something, the more complexity it pushes back. A power and control game that is being played by our politicians and the rich is another obstacle that stands in the way of tax reform. Certain organizations are eligible for a wide variety of temporary tax incentives, which are often added, renewed, and formed for their benefit. It is often referred to as “sunsets.” The new legislation is typically enacted for a period of two years after it has been adopted to assist a certain firm (however there are instances in which the law only helps one corporation). It is necessary to update such laws every two years; otherwise, the organization would lose the benefit it now has. This provides our politicians with the power they need to guarantee that they continue to collect substantial donations to their campaigns. Lawrence Lessig proceeded by saying, “The issue is that Congress is learning how it can threaten the wealthiest people in our society with greater taxes in order to persuade them to donate the limitless campaign funding that Congress requires.” If there were just one tax rate for everyone, then no one would have a compelling motive to send a check to their representative in Congress. In conclusion, the tax system is both confusing and inefficient, which results in a large number of strong individuals and organizations that are able to keep their influence and generate a significant amount of money. It is for this reason that the system cannot be altered until both of my imperatives are satisfied (the Republicans and Democrats have to work as a team and big money influence has to be neutralized or minimized). One another reason why we should elect an independent to the position of president in the future. In the event that we do not, you should not anticipate significant changes to the tax system, and certainly not a significant reform or improvement. Please visit our website at http://www.BrianReckforPresident.com if you are interested in receiving further information about tax reform.
I love myBlogd
Author
jackemails@gmail.com