Friday, April 3, 2009

Fair tax-an oxymoron?

Here's a favorite topic.How to reform the tax system.Fair tax.Flat tax.Or a million other variations proposed.I don't like either.

The flat tax is not flat or fair.It's still progressive with exemptions and credits.We only have one example of a flat tax in use today.The medicare payroll tax withholding at 1.45% of your income.The employer must match that 1.45%,however,so it's not exactly fair.If you're self-employed,you pay the whole thing.The social security tax has a cap so it is not flat.So,different tax brackets,withholding,credits,etc.Sounds just like what we have,doesn't it?

The fair tax is a national retail sales tax on all goods and services of 23% supposedly.It also is not fair or flat.It includes a "pre-bate" as an offset.It's a consumption tax that imposes a tax on you for drawing breath.Of course,when you exhale and emit carbon dioxide,Obama will tax you on cap and trade but that's another issue.What about the person with a large garden at home that consumes much of what they eat at home?Don't they still drive on the roads as much as the apartment dweller who can't grow their food but must pay taxes on all of the food they consume?It's a slippery slope to attempt to determine the "fair" amount of taxes each person should pay as we all consume at different levels even though we may equally utilize public services,or vica-versa.

The whole premise is flawed.Taxing our income.Allowing the Government to confiscate wealth just because.When you earn income,you are contributing to the GDP of the country by adding goods or services as fruits of your labor.If you manufacture something such as a car,for example,you increase the GDP of the country.If you give a customer a haircut,you increase the GDP of the country by adding services.You are paid for your contribution to the economy as a wage.Why should the Government be privy to any portion of this?This is why the IRS is Socialism,because they are redistributing wealth.

The question is how to raise money to provide services the Government provides.Much of what the Government is providing,it shouldn't be.It's unconstitutional.They are operating outside the parameters of the powers expressly provided for in the Constitution.People are simply so accustomed to these things,it's not even questioned.Which was the goal all along,to get people dependent on the Government to justify their existence and give them the power.

The biggest flaw in the entire argument is we are arguing about ways to "fairly" distribute the tax burden amongst all taxpayers.It doesn't address the total level of taxation at all.The Government is too big and spends too much.To have real tax reform,we must address the proper role the Government has.Relying on politicians to police themselves and reduce unnecessary functions is a real lesson in futility.The same effort in futility would be asking the people what their needs are as they vary widely and "fairness" would be out of reach.

The only thing you have to fall back on "fairly" is what is written in our Constitution and it's Amendments.Unless we address the 16th Amendment giving Congress the authority to impose taxes,no real resolution is possible.The fight to equally tax is fine except it doesn't account for Government spending,only how to pay for it.Some would even argue that taxes applied equally should be on every American citizen.Not everyone has earned income,yet they still utilize public services and infrastructure.Should there be a citizenship tax?That brings in the moral and ethical issues of taxing those without any means.Should taxes be the way we force wealth redistribution?The Constitution state in the preamble 6 reasons for why it was written.Number 5 is to promote the general welfare.This is the basis of all taxation power and wealth redistribution.A little vague,perhaps?It also provided that all direct taxes be apportioned equally amongst the states based on population.The 16th Amendment provided the loophole allowing Congress to tax income unequally.

This is where tax reform must start,by Amending the Constitution.By limiting the powers of Government and take away their carte blanche on spending.It will take the largest citizen effort since the Revolutionary War to pull it off because it would specifically take power away from Government and they won't do it without a fight we have never seen.The rest of what we're debating is moot.More to come...

No comments: