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Flat Tax Gaining Momentum?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by thumbs, Jun 19, 2015.

  1. thumbs

    thumbs Contributing Member

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    http://video.foxnews.com/v/43085875...campaign-trail/?intcmp=watchnow#sp=show-clips

    I saw this a few minutes ago. I have been a flat tax supporter for quite some time, but a number of Republican candidates (including those with Libertarian roots) are now backing the plan.

    Steve Forbes has some interesting observations in this clip, particularly with respect to this approach to taxes.

    1) People with incomes of $50K or less are exempt.
    2) Tax codes (all 70,000 pages of them) are obliterated.
    3) Tax filings are far easier to understand and complete.
    4) Economic growth would explode, including capital attraction to the U.S.
     
    #1 thumbs, Jun 19, 2015
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2015
  2. CometsWin

    CometsWin Breaker Breaker One Nine

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    Only in your nutty imagination.
     
  3. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    Could work . . . .

    Rocket River
     
  4. Amiga

    Amiga I get vaunted sacred revelations from social media
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    I love the idea of a simple flat tax for all.

    And a flat wage, a flat health care, a flat education, a flat housing, a flat retirement for all.

    We can do it. Get rid of the military and everything is possible.
     
  5. Dairy Ashford

    Dairy Ashford Member

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    Flat tax was never a possibility. Why would Steve Forbes saying something indicate momentum?
     
  6. A_3PO

    A_3PO Member

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    Ah yes, the right-wing utopian pipe dream known as the flat tax. It gets 15 minutes of fame every 4 years. Wonder why?

    The way to simplify the tax code and make it easy is by paring down the ridiculous number of deductions. 3-4 brackets is hardly the problem. The flat tax dreamers love to bind the two together.
     
  7. thumbs

    thumbs Contributing Member

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    Several GOP candidates have adopted a position supporting some form of flat tax. Remember, quite a few people (aka, the poor) make less than $50K.
     
  8. DonnyMost

    DonnyMost not wrong
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    The idea that someone making 50K a year should be taxed at the same rate as someone making 500K a year is basically how you get a society and economy to collapse.

    Simplify the tax code, shrink the IRS, but for the love of sanity, graduate the brackets.
     
  9. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    The flat tax would result in taxes for most people going up big time. If you make 100k for instance, you'd probably have to pay a flat tax of 35% on all your income just for federal. It actually probably would be higher.

    All a flat tax does is give the rich a small tiny tax break but that's billions of dollars that the rest of the country would have to pick-up the tab on. It literally is socialism for the rich.
     
  10. Dairy Ashford

    Dairy Ashford Member

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    Not to Jim Lehrer in a college auditorium after August. That "50k" loss leader is an even bigger pipe dream. Quite a few people who make less than 50k (aka non-morons who don't want to see the military, social security and education system collapse) have willingly paid their fair share without whining or trying to re-invent the wheel.
     
  11. Commodore

    Commodore Contributing Member

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    note the presumption here that all wealth originates belonging to the state
     
  12. Cannonball

    Cannonball Contributing Member

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    Gaining momentum? What, do 2 people think it's a good idea now?

    Would all be good things, but none of that has to do with whether a flat tax is actually a good idea or not. Those are just added benefits.

    Speculative. And probably BS. Care to elaborate on how this would help the economy? Is it anything like Trickle Down Economics?
     
  13. YaosDirtyStache

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    I had to make sure it wasnt Basso who made this thread.

    Flat tax is the absolute crusty bunghole of all Rightist ideas. And I already feel like most of their ideas are already crustyhole.

    Want to watch the rich make out like bandits even more? Flat Tax is your answer.
    Want to watch podunk undereducated rednecks once again vote for an idea that goes against their best interest? Flat tax is it!
     
  14. Dubious

    Dubious Contributing Member

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    Reality check -

    US law is written by lawyers, they get paid by the hour to nitpick every tiny detail of everything, to extract every advantage for their benefactors. No massive, radical, unpredictable change is going to happen. The natural course of law, or anything else, is for things to get more complicated, never less.
     
    1 person likes this.
  15. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    Note that your comment makes no sense whatsoever.

    But knowing you, you probably think that taxes are a crime to begin with and we'd be better off without an army or gov't services. That wealthy people, who hate paying taxes, would somehow build roads to all of america and charge a fee to use them of course. They would build an army. they would do all of these things.

    Having worked in corporate and with corporate america for my whole career - I don't have much faith as you do in their problem solving abilities.
     
  16. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    We should move away from income taxes to consumption taxes. And they can be made progressive as well
     
  17. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    Our whole economy is powered by consumer spending....
     
  18. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    Cool story, bro.
     
  19. Major

    Major Member

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    Why? And how would you propose making it progressive?
     
  20. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    A consumption tax is much less distortionary and more efficient.

    Implementing progressivity would require a filing for consumption (income minus savings).

    http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebat...income-tax-with-a-progressive-consumption-tax

    The best approach would completely replace the income tax with a progressive consumption tax. We can do this by adopting a personal expenditure tax, which requires taxpayers to file returns on what they compute their consumer spending by subtracting saving from income. Spending above an exemption amount is taxed at graduated rates, with higher brackets for those with higher spending. Or, we can adopt a Bradford X tax, which splits consumption into two pieces, wages and business cash flow, and taxes them separately. Workers are taxed on wages at graduated rates, above an exemption amount, and businesses are taxed on cash flow at a flat rate, equal to the highest wage tax rate. Under either system, tax credits can be paid in cash to poorer households.

    Thinking outside the box and embracing progressive consumption taxation offers a way to promote both tax fairness and economic growth.
     

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