Subject: fairness Comment: Investment incentives are key to maintaining the American dream as is fairness. Upon review of collection data, it is extremely apparent that there is a disproportionate rate of taxation. According to Crandall, Pierce & Company, approximately 1% of our Americans carry 33.7% of the tax burden and the bottom 75% of all individual tax payers, carry only 16.1% of the tax burden. In a time when the tax debate is so critical, I wanted to remind the panel of this discrepancy. I find it unfair for us to tax a dollar in one hand differently than a dollar in another. By implementing a flat tax code, all dollars and therefore American's are treated equally. If you earn a dollar, you pay the same amount. If you earn more dollars than your neighbor, you will still pay more in taxes by virtue of earning more, but not at an escalating rate which removes all incentives to earn more. Take it from some of our new global democracies in Eastern Europe, they learned from us the basics of economics and have implemented flat tax codes and are realizing tremendous growth. Lastly, it is such growth that America needs to address some of our larger 'social' concerns such as catastrophic events, aging population, pension obligations. Consider fairness when you consider optimal changes. With that said, I wish you all the best... Sincerely, Kalei |