And again, this tax code will only live long enough until we do away with income tax. If we reduce our massive spending problem, then citizens would not have to pay income tax.

Here is another kicker. Senators and congressmen get paid $4,000 per year. Receiving lobbyists’ money will be criminal. Campaign contributions will be from individuals only. The house and senate meet twice per year. That is it. No health care, no retirement.

Maybe that will flush the lifers out and bring in people that want to work for their constituents.

No deductions. Income is income. If you made money, you pay tax.

Unfortunately, Agnatha is essentially correct. While our foreign war-making and related theft, medical costs etc. is costing a bundle, the remainder of Sol’s suggestions would save little budget dollars and might even cost us in the long run. No, I’m no fan of the WTO (openly hostile, in fact), I wonder about relevance of NATO (Georgia notwithstanding) and prefer having something like the UN to nothing-at-all. But what I or Sol or anyone wants doesn’t matter when you’re talking about economic consequences.

Budget-wise, the big ticket items are the Social Security trust fund (love it or hate it, trillions have been paid into it) and the military-industrial complex (including Treasury’s “black budget”). If you’re going to screw with Social Security, sorry, but I want my damn money back first–every penny. And the program, for the modest reasons it was created, in fact works.

The rest–including the relatively obscene corporate welfare–is just tinkering at the margins and in many instances would do more harm than good.

I think a big part of the solution is to create an economy wherein private profit at the expense of the common good is not rewarded by government. Revenues, be they income tax, sales tax, property tax, excise tax, user fees, whatever, don’t come from thin air. A nation chock full o’ sick, malnourished paupers is guaranteed to always be in debt.

Those whose minds are in auto-”socialist!” mode should note, though, that I am not–and have never–advocated simply handing government revenue to people. A better idea is the notion, long lost in our cynical age, that we’re all in this mess together.

Because we are. It’s just a simple fact. You can be as individualistic as you want–that’s fine, I like making my own choices too–but if you really think you’re making it all on your own, fine: let me drop you in some isolated woodland with nothing but the clothes on your back.

You’ll find out soon enough how independent you really are.

P.S. A targeted consumption tax might not be a bad idea but–I hate to point this out–large concentrations of wealth at the very top can assist in the general welfare of this country without harming those persons–other than perhaps their very slightly impinging their freedom to determine the terms of existence for the rest of us.

It’s not class warfare to acknowledge that the war is already underway, and the lower and middle classes are losing.

You just can’t make this stuff up; no one would believe you.

9,999 it is. DEAL !!!

Yeah, but…. I dunno. Think I would rather get screwed once a year instead of everyday.

Y’all’s points do make sense. Gotta give you that.

On a lighter note…

my tax plan would include transfers of goods (estate and gift taxes) as well.

Why do you want to tax Christmas VT? How can those poor little kids pay taxes on their gifts? Halloween? Their birthdays? For shame VT, for shame.

You’d have to have basic math and reading skills to understand how progressive our current income tax system is.

Carry on….

What frickin planet are you on?

And I know my left wing brothers and sisters hate it when I say this, but I’d be more inclined to support a national sales tax if you exempt food and drugs. Yeah I know it’s regressive, but there is NOTHING progressive about the tax code we have now.

Given the nature of this economy, I’d support a tax on consumption more than a tax on income. At least until the wealthy rat phuck that tax as well.

Won’t begin to tell you I understand all the tax code. Barely enough to fill out my own 1040.

So lets start there. What you have to claim as income on your 1040.

KISS.

Let’s see.

Bring the troops home from Iraq.
Bring the troops home from all foreign soil.
Get out of the UN, NATO, WTO and any other organization that restricts us.
Stop foreign aid.
Dispose of the DOE.
Dispose of the Homeland Security[sic]
Restructre or eliminate all federal agencies/positions to at least 1/3 of current positions.

Hows that for a start.

How about 15% tax for every damn one. No tax breaks. No loopholes. 15%. Period.

That is until we can control spending enough not to need an income tax.

That work?

That’s worked out great so far.

Only in ‘merica…

“For me! For me! A share of the plunder for me!”

Realizing that our nation cannot afford to be all things to all people – and BOTH parties are responsible for coming up with hard solutions which must include spending cuts. It may include tax increases too. But we cannot create enough revenue with tax increases to resolve this problem.

Our debt is going to lead to the destruction of our way of life.

I’m dreaming, but it would be nice to hear ideas today which are not driven by party politics.
Or blame. It gets us nowhere.