Subject: My Thoughts Comment: Frankly I do not believe that Republicans or Democrats can deal with the economic issues of our country because decisions need to be made thinking 10 even 100 years in the future rather than 2 to 4 years. At any rate, here are some of my thoughts on the subject. If a tax form can not fit on a single page, it is too complex. Tax brackets make sense but the brackets should be flatter then they are now. Most of the tax breaks also need to be removed to reduce complexity and to make the tax system more fair, even if it is more perception than reality. Currently the high income people are in a very high bracket, probably too high. However, often times they can take advantage of tax breaks to lessen it so a wide disparity of tax rates is needed. This punishes the people who can not take advantage of these tax brakes. By making the tax brackets closer together and getting rid of deductions that only the relatively wealthy can take advantage of would create a much more fair and easier income taxes. The AMT would be unnecessary so could go away. Every American should need to file taxes so we are all part of the system. Even someone making $1 from social benefits should pay something in tax, even if only 5%. This way at least they are putting something in the pot they are taking from. The amount of benefits for lower income people should be increased to offset their new taxes. The higher brackets could be lowered by getting rid of most of the current deductions. State, local, and property taxes should not be deductible on another tax. I take advantage of these but I know going in these expenses existed. The Federal government didn't require me buying the house. If I decide to get a mortgage, I deduct the interest. I knew there would be interest and the government is not requiring this so why should I get this deduction? Why do I get a deduction for having children? I can get a deduction for placing my child in daycare . . . how does this make sense? Did the government force people to have kids? Likewise, why should I have a tax penalty for being married? So the government wants me to have kids and institutionalize them but does not want me to be married? Is this what Republicans and Democrats mean by American family values? Deductions that are allowed should be allowed regardless of income levels. Things like education expenses, healthcare, and items that can help the country and world (ie. charity, fuel efficient or alternative fuel cars, solar panels on a home) should be deductible. One tax increase that I believe should be implemented is a $0.25 tax on gas. Add another $0.25 each year for about 15 years and I bet fuel efficiency and conservation and even public transportation will be improved. Use the tax money to fund public transportation projects and renewable energy. The Estate tax should be kept but the tax rate should be closer to the long term capital gains of 20%. The AMT should go away. Capital gains on stocks should work the same as losses. Either can be short or long term but just as there is no limit to gains, there should be no limit to deductible losses. Also, the idea of a wash sale is very difficult to keep track of and makes no sense because if there is a wash sale loss, you still take the loss for tax purposes but you need to wait until you sell the stock and do not buy more within 30 days. If sold for a gain and buy more within 30 days, you still owe tax on the gain rather than waiting until the next time sell and do not buy within 30 days. Just record the transaction as a short o long term gain or loss and take care of it in the applicable tax year. Social security should be the same payout regardless on how much someone paid in. It is just a tax, not a pension or 401k. Likewise, no amount of money should be excluded from the tax. Doing so is like having a reverse tax bracket. Why should some get a tax break for making more then $90,000? Social Security and medical taxes should all just be called and treated like any other tax. These should be there as a safety net to keep people out of poverty, not to maintain their prior living standards. Over spending is the #1 issue of government today. You can't talk about tax reform without spending reform. Interest on national debt should be less then 1% of total spending in my opinion and it should be temporary. Deficit spending makes sense when the economy is in a down cycle as long as the tax surplus in up cycle's are at least enough to pay the debts off. Social spending should never exceed twice the amount spent on Military/Homeland security. Ideally they would be about the same. Farm subsidiaries should go away as they as anti-competitive and anti-capitalistic in nature. This costs money with nothing positive in return. A person should not have to go broke before they can use the benefits like with current medical benefits. The borders must be protected from terrorists and people who will need to use more benefits than they are able to pay in taxes. This includes both illegal and legal immigrants. Student Visas are the exception to this as students will not be making the income to pay much of anything in taxes but we need them to help keep our schools and science sectors world class. Some may stay and then would add to tax revenues. A good way to lessen illegal immigration is to arrest and especially fine business leaders who hire illegal. Once the number of illegals are reduced, we could increase the number of legal immigrants we allow in. Don't confuse a secure border with a closed border or something racist. For what its worth, these are the main current issues that effect the way I vote. Thanks for asking Alan Bott albott@cox.net |