Subject: Comments Requested Comment: Please see attached Microsoft Word file. Should you need this in a different format, please advise. Thank you for your assistance. Paul R. Richard, Jr.,CPA Paul R. Richard, Jr.CPA P. O. Box 2891 Slidell, LA 70459 Attn: Tax Reform Panel Subj: Requested comments from 1st Panel Meeting 02/16/05 Dear Sir or Madam, Thank you for allowing us to submit our comments on such an important national issue. I will keep my feedback as concise as possible. The current system is failing at a higher rate each year. More of the burden is being shifted to the everyday, middle income tax payer because of the structure of the system. In an ideal world, the system would work fine. However, due to the overwhelming complexity of the code, it is impossible to enforce. Therefore, there are many, many people not paying their equitable share of taxes. One aspect of the tax system that is unfair is that business owners are increasingly becoming aware that ANY “business” can become a huge tax shelter. Personal expenses are filtered through and taken as ordinary business expenses. It is impossible to audit every business. And even if the IRS audited most of them, it is only a small portion of a company’s expenses that are personal in nature and would be very difficult to find. As you evaluate the existing system I ask you to consider the following goal: “Every RESIDENT of this country should pay his or her proportionately equal share of taxes once income extends beyond the poverty level” The only way to ensure this occurs is to adopt a national sales tax. By adopting this policy, each person will pay tax in proportion to his or her spending level. In additional, the government will actually have increased revenues without raising the percentage of tax most people pay. This will be achieved through a much higher number of citizens paying SOME tax, as opposed to none or very little. A comprehensive review of the plan will ensure that most people will agree with this approach once educated on the components. Thank you again for your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to reviewing the summary results of your inquiry. With kindest regards I remain, Very truly yours, Paul R. Richard, Jr., CPA |