{"id":3775,"date":"2010-09-09T08:58:32","date_gmt":"2010-09-09T08:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zmetro.com\/?p=3775"},"modified":"2010-09-09T08:58:32","modified_gmt":"2010-09-09T08:58:32","slug":"us_tax_reform_h","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/?p=3775","title":{"rendered":"US Tax Reform: How about this for a tax plan: cut most people\u2019s taxes by half, eliminate the need to file returns, and provide the Treasury with a better way to reduce the deficit. Sound impossible? It\u2019s not. Here\u2019s how to get it done."},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>Keith Libbey &#038; Evan Thomas:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>Most Americans spend dozens, if not hundreds, of hours attempting, not always successfully, to do their tax returns. We spend almost $30 billion paying accountants to fill out the complicated forms, and by some estimates we devote $110 billion of our own labor just keeping track of all the necessary records and paperwork. Americans pay about 85 percent of the taxes they owe, better than in most countries, but the shortfall is still a drain on the Treasury (and the rich seem to find a way to avoid taxes legally). Is this costly, demoralizing struggle between the IRS and the rest of us really necessary?<br \/>\n<Br><Br><br \/>\nThe short answer is no. There is a way to relieve almost all Americans of the annual April 15 nightmare. What\u2019s more, it\u2019s a necessary first step toward a plan to cut the looming federal deficit. The time is right for thoroughgoing tax reform\u2014a true clean slate\u2014that will bring in more revenue while giving the public a greater sense of fairness. The reforms we propose will even allow most people to take home more pay than they do now.<br \/>\n<Br><Br><br \/>\nThe place to start is to cut almost everyone\u2019s payroll and income taxes by half. Yes, you read that right. Cut most tax rates, which now run from 10 to 39 percent, by half. All individual taxes would be collected through company withholding taxes on compensation (salary, bonus, deferred payments, etc.) and investment income (dividends, interest, capital gains, rents) to individuals. The very rich\u2014those making more than $2 million a year\u2014would still pay a top tax rate of 30 percent on earned income. The rate on investment income would be 15 percent. The result: individuals would not have to file tax returns, most Americans would take home more pay than they do now, the tax base would be broadened, and the AMT\u2014the alternative minimum tax, which sweeps up more taxpayers every year\u2014would be eliminated.<br \/>\n<Br><Br><br \/>\nToo good to be true? There\u2019s no free lunch. The revenue lost to the government\u2014roughly half of all personal federal taxes\u2014has to come from someplace else. The best fix is to eliminate all deductions and exemptions for individual taxpayers\u2014all those tax breaks that were intended to promote economic activity or serve worthy social goals but have ended up creating myriad unfair outcomes. It\u2019s true that the wealthiest 1 percent currently pays about 18 percent of all taxes. Still, thanks to clever tax dodges, the top 400 income earners pay an average tax rate of 16.6 percent; megabillionaire Warren Buffett notes that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Keith Libbey &#038; Evan Thomas: Most Americans spend dozens, if not hundreds, of hours attempting, not always successfully, to do their tax returns. We spend almost $30 billion paying accountants to fill out the complicated forms, and by some estimates we devote $110 billion of our own labor just keeping track of all the necessary [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,8,9,17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3775"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3775\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.zmetro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}