Fixing America In 500 Words Or Less Chapter 67 IS THERE REALLY A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL WAY TO TAX?        Although dishonest politicians and others with their own agenda axe to grind would have us believe they can give us a free ride, obviously things like schools, roads, electrical grids, dams, parks, police and fire protection, government employees, military weapons and soldiers, scientific, educational and related research, disaster relief efforts and similar government-supplied realities require funding both to have and to maintain.  And thus, just reducing or eliminating taxes to secure enough votes and remain on the good side of special interest political donors doesn't represent legitimate tax reform.        In light of the outlandishly complex and grossly unfair current federal system of taxation and our ever-growing national debt, few would deny we are in dire need of tax reform.  Unfortunately, when reforms are proposed by various liberals, conservatives, moderates, libertarians, independents and others, they typically want to keep certain deductions favorable to them while eliminating deductions beneficial to others.  More unfortunately, proposals by partisan politicians invariably protect deductions favorable to the wealthy and special interest groups at the expense of the rest of us.        Nevertheless, the answer for achieving a fair and equitable system is perhaps more simple than one might expect.  If every citizen were granted a single “poverty level” deduction, which would vary from county to county and differ depending on the size of one's household, there would be no need for mortgage, rental, child, married, personal and similar exemptions, as these and more would be covered within this single deduction.  And, such a deduction would significantly benefit the working class and poor, their income typically falling close to or below the poverty level line.        Other than this single poverty level exemption, which could be granted to all tax-paying citizens including the wealthiest among us, there would be no other deductions other than for legitimate charitable contributions.  A double poverty level exemption could be extended to the blind and otherwise truly disabled.        All income above the poverty level could be taxed the same percentage, regardless of what kind of income it is, including capital gains, inheritance, interest income, gifts received and any and all other income.  There would be no need to tax corporations or other businesses at all, which would eliminate far more current corruption than one can possibly list.  Such taxes on business are in reality a tax on we the people, invariably resulting in higher prices for goods and services. ¹        While such fundamental reform would undoubtedly send many lawyers and accountants scrambling for other employment, it would be fair and impartial for us all.  And, the same basic model could be extended on down to state and lower levels, thus eliminating sales, property, gasoline and other draconian taxes.        The tax percentage could be adjusted up or down so there would be no need for the government to either borrow a dime or tax us for a dime more than necessary to operate from year to year.  Are other tax reform plans proposed today any better, more simple or more fair than this?  You decide. NOTES: 1. For far too long, politicians and their flimflam advisers have been allowed to trick us into believing that taxing business is somehow beneficial to us, when in fact doing so causes prices for goods and services to rise accordingly and thus, taxing business in reality merely represents a backdoor method of raising our taxes.  Consider how much more competitive American business would be if companies didn't have to hire lawyers, accountants and staff to keep track of all of their expenses and deductions; consider the many billions of dollars in savings that would be passed on to us in the form of lower prices.  Consider again how much even more competitive American business would be if we had universal healthcare and thus, no corporation or other company found it necessary to cover their employees for health insurance.  We shouldn't let wicked and vile leaders vainly imagine they are smarter than we are when in fact, they are obviously against the best interests of everyone in our nation, from the wealthiest among us on down to the most poor. Click Here to Go Back to Contents Click Here to eMail the Author Copyright © December 10th, 2019 by Richard Aberdeen. Copyright © December 10th, 2019 by Freedom Tracks Records. ( including from several earlier copyrights ) No part of this material may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher and signed by the author. For inquiries, please contact Freedom Tracks Records.  The essays entitled Revolution and Revolution ~ Side B are open copyright and may be reproduced and distributed as desired.