Taxes - Do you have a solution?

[Forgon]

Ok,

So I thought the whole reason The United State revolted against England was because the whole "No taxation without representation."

Today I got to thinking, the average US citizen is being WAY overtaxed on just about anything the damn government can possibly tax!

A tax on income... Property, buying gas, buying just about anything, doing just about anything.

And in a great way, we are not longer being "represented" as the saying goes. It's utter BS to think the government is "working for us" when they initiated the income tax. And it's unreasonably high for the "low wage earners." I mean 25% if you make over $40k a year? WTF? How in the world did the government believe that 1 hour out of every 4 you work deserves to go to them if you make SUCH LITTLE money....

And the IRS is so very terrible in all ways.

So my question is:

What is your take on Taxes? Even if you don't live in the US, I'm sure your government is just as corrupt, do you think taxes have gone too far?

And

Do you have a solution? (e.g. maybe you like the whole "flat tax" system)

[Wells]

By what are you measuring against to say we're overtaxed?

[Sunseeker]

The only problem I have with taxes are the incredibly wealthy being able to get out of them while the middle class and the poor get squeezed to make up the difference.

[breadisfunny]

i feel taxes have not gone far enough.

[Calzaeth]

First of all, you've misunderstood how tax barckets work. The "33% if over 40k"-thing means that 33% of the amount you earn OVER 40k is taxed. I.e. if you earn 40.100, you'll only be taxed $33 more than if you made 40k flat.

On taxes in general, I live in Norway. We are heavily taxed, but the tax money is well spent in a good security network, so I like it. It feels nice to be able to have a chronic illness without having to either win the lottery or beg donations.

[Spectral]

So I thought the whole reason The United State revolted against England was because the whole "No taxation without representation."

You were misinformed if you're under the impression that this is the "whole reason".

Today I got to thinking, the average US citizen is being WAY overtaxed on just about anything the damn government can possibly tax!

Since the average American does have representation, that seems like a non sequitur. But what are you basing it on?

I mean 33% [income tax] if you make over $40k a year?

This number seems to have been pulled directly from your ass.

[Blueobelisk]

Defunding certain things can help.

[Forgon]

i feel taxes have not gone far enough.

What do you make a year?

My best friend right now makes $40k, and having 1/4 of it taken away through takes is UTTER BS!

And just like another poster said, there is HUGE issue of the extremely wealthy getting out of even paying the taxes they are supposed to pay. Taxes ARE BROKEN!

[Korgoth]

I only feel overtaxed because I live in CA, if I was in Texas or Oregon I wouldn't. Federal seems fine. Local is a bit much.

[Surfd]

The general problem with American Taxation is not that you are being over taxed (hint, you are not, your taxes are actually on the upper end of low compared to some other places). The problem is that your Tax money is being poorly managed. Blame your government for spending your tax dollars on a lot of the wrong shit, not on the fact that you are taxed.

[Endus]

Ok,

So I thought the whole reason The United State revolted against England was because the whole "No taxation without representation."

Today I got to thinking, the average US citizen is being WAY overtaxed on just about anything the damn government can possibly tax!

And yet, you have representation. The revolution was never anti-tax. The issue was that the taxes were set without the colonials having any say, and the tax monies were sent back to England rather than being used to improve the colonies.

And in a great way, we are not longer being "represented" as the saying goes. It's utter BS to think the government is "working for us" when they initiated the income tax.

This is just ridiculous.

Do you have the right to vote?

Then you have representation.

So my question is:

What is your take on Taxes? Even if you don't live in the US, I'm sure your government is just as corrupt, do you think taxes have gone too far?

Before you start saying taxes are "bad", first start listing all the government services and programs you, personally, benefit from. You get to cut those first. If you aren't willing to give those programs and services up, then you have no call to be arguing that others should be giving up those which benefit them.

Do you have a solution? (e.g. maybe you like the whole "flat tax" system)

Flat tax is inherently regressive, which means it's not workable; it is deliberately designed to punish the poor and benefit the wealthy.

What we need is for people to realize two things;

1> Taxation is part of the social contract. As a citizen, you consent to it. If you think it's unacceptable, give up your citizenship and leave. If you're not willing to give up the benefits of citizenship, then you need to realize that those exist because of the taxes you're complaining about.

2> If you vote, and the rest of the voter base votes differently, meaning you don't see the tax reductions you'd prefer to see, then what you need to accept is that the majority of your region and/or the country does not agree with you.

[Aitch]

There are plenty of tax breaks for the middle class and even more for the poor. It's not just the wealthy that get tax breaks, they're just the ones who decided to educate themselves and pay attention to what happens to their money.

[Lightwysh]

I make about $40k. Last year I paid 24% federal and state tax, social security, all that stuff. I got about a $2k tax refund. Those saying it's 33% are full of shit.

[Wells]

There are plenty of tax breaks for the middle class and even more for the poor. It's not just the wealthy that get tax breaks, they're just the ones who decided to educate themselves and pay attention to what happens to their money.

Or get born in the right uterus.

[Darsithis]

And yet, you have representation. The revolution was never anti-tax. The issue was that the taxes were set without the colonials having any say, and the tax monies were sent back to England rather than being used to improve the colonies.

Damn it, Endus, you beat me to it.

As Endus said, we have representation now. At the time of the revolutionary war it was because taxes were decided by England with no say by the colonies. You definitely have more bargaining power now than we ever had 300 years ago.

The issue isn't our tax burden, which is pretty low but rather how it is spent.

[Reeve]

I'm fine with my taxes, and I'm represented (unfortunately) by Sheila Jackson Leigh, Ted Cruz, and John Cornyn at the Federal level.

So no, I'm not being taxed without representation, nor am I being overtaxed.

[Forgon]

You were misinformed if you're under the impression that this is the "whole reason".

Wow, you're the life of a party aren't you.

Since the average American does have representation, that seems like a non sequitur. But what are you basing it on?

As I said, the representation we have is terrible and almost entirely corrupt

This number seems to have been pulled directly from your ass.

The number was based solely on my best friend's information, upon looking up the correct numbers, it isn't much better: 25%, which I still think is ridiculous for someone making $40k.

Source: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf?portlet=3

[v2prwsmb45yhuq3wj23vpjk]

I don't think you know how tax brackets work. You aren't taxed 'retroactively' for making it into a new bracket. Here are 2 made-up tax brackets:

5% up to 10,000
10% up 20,000

The way tax brackets work mean if you made 10k, you'd be taxed 5% on it and have 9.5k left. If you made 20k, you'd be taxed 5% on 10k and 10% on 10k, leaving you with 18.5k left. If you made 11k, you'd be taxed 5% on 10k and 10% on 1k, leaving you with 10.4k left.

So your supposed 33% on 40k is actually not at all that.

[cuafpr]

flat tax (with a slight progressive curve like 1% more for every 100k over 100k/yr. up to X% [not sure what number])

no deductions / loop wholes all income taxed even stocks / trades etc...

National sales tax (yes on online ordering to) that would be highly progressive if the rich want to buy expensive toys they will pay, even higher if they import luxuries from over seas. (this would be like 50%+ sales tax on say a Lamborghini )

no difference between married/not married either.. annoys the hell out of me.

[Darsithis]

I make about $40k. Last year I paid 24% federal and state tax, social security, all that stuff. I got about a $2k tax refund. Those saying it's 33% are full of shit.

Effective tax rate and what is intended are two different things. You're taxed in specific brackets at certain amounts but your effective tax rate is based on the average - deductions. For instance, my $90,000 salary isn't taxed the same. Part of it is taxed at one rate and part of it at another, depending on the brackets I hit. Then deductions are factored in (am I supporting someone, do I own property, did I sell something?) and my effective tax rate is xx% because the actual taxes I ended up paying is $xxxxx.