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Secret of the Flat Tax: Middle Class Pays More So Rich Pay Less

The middle class pays more so the rich can pay less

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I consider myself mostly Republican, but I don't think a flat tax makes sense as I understand it. When I was a young newlywed making $20,000/yr., any tax liability would have crushed us.

An 8% tax on $20,000 is $1600; There's no way I could have handled that! Living expenses are just too high to allow it. Is there something about this idea that I'm not getting?

GHASSAN, I'm a little confused. You're praising a flat-tax system, yet the scenario you mapped out is a progressive-tax system. Either you or I don't understand what you're talking about.

El Warbo Grande of UT 11:22AM January 03, 2013

To Ghassan; so we are supposed to not want to make over 1000000 dollars a year? That is a disgrace 60 % tax rate. The only reason democrats appose the flat tax is because they already find loopholes in the current system.

matt of TN 1:55PM July 08, 2012

Does anyone consider something more along the lines of a fair tax where we're paying higher consumption tax, etc? I read something by a Colorado man named John Davis traveling the country county by county who has what I think is the perfect combination of common sense and business sense for taming the economy in a way we can sustain and eventually grow. After all, amending current tax code won't be easy either way--might as well do an overhaul that will get results. Granted, change won't be easy, but we have to do something or this ship will son sink!

Dawna of CO 11:09PM December 12, 2011

flat tax is great , the proper rates will help in controlling greed , here is the rates

0-20,000 5%

20,000-50,000$ 10%

50,000-75,000 11%

75,000-100,000 12%

every 25k more the rate increase by 1%

so 1,000,000$ 40%

over one million $ 60% tax rate

over ten million $ 70% " "

few would want to make more than one million$ a year, yes flat tax is better depending on the rate, and not one rate firs all

ghassan samara of FL 7:31AM November 03, 2011

I look at the previous comments and am stunned at the inhumanity of what I'm seeing. These are not people I care to know if they think it's okay that someone making $12,000 a year pays $1,200 in income tax not including sales taxes and employment taxes and in the end leaving them with less than $10,000 to live on. They obviously have no soul and I can find no excuse for their heartlessness. And lest you think that no decent person lives on that little, I can tell you that I live on $11,280 a year from my Social Security. I have no mortgage on my home, take few medicines, have Medicare, no car payment and still find virtually impossible to pay my utility bills, pay car insurance, buy fuel & groceries and pay my property taxes on my income without going into my dwindling savings.

If you think I should have to pay the same percentage as someone making $1,200,000 a year then you just have no decency or conscience. The person making $1,200,000 will have $1,080,000 to live on and that is a big difference from $11,280 a year that I live on.

I pay property taxes now, and just voted to increase funding for the local grade school. I have no children in school and no grandchildren, but I care enough about my country and education that I don't mind doing my part to help see that we have good schools for children.

Would that the "greed is good" and "I've got mine and I don't care about you" people had spent more time learning humility and human kindness,

Donna Crane of AZ 9:33PM November 02, 2011

The chief benefit of a flat tax is reduction in spending, not an increase in revenue. How much does the IRS cost every year? How much do we spend on CPAs, tax attorneys, lobbyists?

By simplifying the tax code and eliminating ALL the exceptions and deductions, we can give everyone in society an extra 2 weeks each year.

A far as fairness is concerned: is it fair that the top 1% earn 21% of AGI and pay 39% of the taxes? Is it fair that the top 50% pays 97% of the taxes? The fact is that the bottom 50% only pay 3% of their income in taxes, but use most of the public services. Is that fair?

If the 9% flat rate were applied to 2008 taxes $705B would be taken in (vs $1T under the current tax code). Roughly 70% of GDP is consumer spending so a 9% federal sales tax would generate $15T*.7*.09 = $945B in taxes. This more than makes up for the drop in a 9% flat tax.

Isn't this the European value added tax (VAT) model? I thought all you liberals wanted to be like Europe, what gives?

Russ Wetherill of CA 10:47AM November 02, 2011

Taxation should not be a game that is score by who pays more or less, it should be a fair system that taxes everyone the same. If it is used as a punishment for success then guess what, just like everything else, you will get less of it.

From everything I have read the tax cuts raised the federal revenue under Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush, so were the tax cuts the problem or was it the spending like a bunch of drunken sailors? Apologies to all the fine sailors in the world.

I, for one, would pay less than I do now, and I am very much in the middel class. Now if you say the 43 -52% that pay NO tax will pay more, then you are probably correct.

Larry of CA 6:07PM November 01, 2011

The Flat Tax is basically the Poll Tax through out European history it has led to mas rioting and the fall of leaders.

Ramesh Patel of DC 4:14PM November 01, 2011

The Flat Tax is nothing new. Its was first introduced in the 13th century in the UK. It lead to mass rioting in London and the fall of the King(Look up Poll Tax history wikipedia) The next time it was introduced was the 17th century and the same thing happened again. More recently at the end of the 1980's which lead to to over 5million people rioting in the street of London. Then eventually the fall of Thatcher-hooray! So people across the pond if you want millions rioting all over the US introduce it. If you want to show decency, fairness and to save your country then don't even think of the Flat Tax.

iamalrightjack of DC 4:10PM November 01, 2011