Taxes, a position paper

Taxes.

It seems every individual and every politician talks about taxes. Especially the politician. They talk about who should get tax cuts or breaks. They talk about who should pay more. They talk about who isn't paying their “fair share” of taxes. They talk about how the wealthy can afford a tax hike or don't deserve a tax break or cut.

First of all lets get one thing perfectly clear. I don't think anyone with a sane mind would disagree with me on this, except for the most liberal nut jobs out there. First and foremost, the money that the government taxes, your income, is NOT their money. It is your money. You earned it. The government did not lift a finger to help you get up every day to earn that money.

In fact, in many cases the government makes it harder for you to earn that money so you can eventually pay half of it to them in the form of taxes, fees, fines and service charges. Which brings me to another point.

Any time the government charges you for something or takes money from you, its a TAX! I don't care what they call it, a fee, a license, a service charge or whatever. When it comes down to the basics of it, all it is – is tax. Look around you. Your phone bill. Your electric bill. Your gas bill. Your cell phone bill. Your cable bill. Your auto gas bill. Your auto registration. Your road tolls. Your air plane ticket. Your train ticket. There is a tax in all of it.

To be fair many of those taxes are levied by state and local governments as well but this topic is focusing on the Federal Government. We as a people spend a good portion of our hard earned income in taxes. Depending on how much you earn it could be as little as 33% to as high as nearly 75%. That is ALL the taxes that each level of government charges.

So when I hear a politician say that some people are not paying their fair share of taxes, I hide my wallet because history has proven time and time again that when those in Washington, D.C. Go after the rich, it ends up affecting and effecting me and every other middle class American. Think about it.

Remember the A.M.T.? The Alternative Minimum Tax. It was supposed to only soak the rich. But this year we had a Congress that scrambled in an election year to revamp this tax code because it was entrapping more and more middle class Americans. Now of course these people knew this was going to happen. They knew that this tax would trickle down to the average American which is why they did not index the tax to begin with.

This was a tax that was presented to the people as a way of making sure that the wealthy paid their fair share of taxes but it was really a thinly disguised way to entrap millions of Americans and force them to pay more. This was a simple money grab.

The money you earn by working, investing, saving, giving, inheriting or by any other legal means should and does belong to you. The government seems to think it belongs to them. They don't want to cut programs but every time they raise a tax, they force you to cut somewhere. I don't care if you are liberal or conservative or somewhere in between, taxes affect us all.

If you like paying high taxes then I would suggest that you lower my taxes and keep your high rate. I guarantee you that not even the most liberal of liberals will give up any more cash than they have too. Oh sure, they may donate to what they think are worthy causes but I bet you less than 1% of the population will voluntarily hand over more hard earned cash in the way of voluntary taxes. Taxes should be flat across the board. Doesn't matter how much you earn. Many of the excise and service taxes should be eliminated. The American people can be trusted with their own money. If Americans didn't have to spend 33% to 75% of their earned income on various taxes, they would spend, invest and save at higher rates. You would have fewer bankruptcies. You would have more investment. You would have fewer people in poverty.

This is not some pie in the sky dream, this is history and fact. This is a nation where people who legally come here from abroad are 7 times more likely to become millionaires than someone who is born here. This is and always has been the land of opportunity. But it seems that there are plenty in Washington and in state and local capitals across this nation of plenty that seem to think that it is unfair for you to get ahead and so wish to tax you in order to keep you in your place. This strategy is working. The American middle class is not being squeezed by high gas prices. The American middle and lower class is being squeezed by ever increasing taxes in all forms not just income taxes. Even the wealthy, those who invest the most, have to cut back because of high taxes.

This chokes our economy. History has shown that every time there is a major income tax cut or reduction, the Federal government and most state governments see a dramatic increase in overall tax revenue. This is something one cannot dispute because in this case the numbers do not lie.

The Government has no business taxing a persons income, investment or inheritance. I also realize that many people would not like or accept a national sales tax and I don't blame them. Just look at the drag on the economy our friends to the North still face after their Federal government instituted a national sales tax.

I think that the government should take a cue from the Bible. God only ask that you give 10% of your income to Him via a tithe. The government should adjust itself to get by with the same. A flat 10% income tax. No Social Security. No A.M.T. No Medicare. No other tax at all. Any special or industry specific tax such as phone service taxes or gas and road taxes should only be spent on those areas as specific to its tax and not tossed into a general fund or used in some other way, such as cigarette taxes paying for children's health care. Makes no sense.

I also believe that states with income and sales taxes double tax their people. First you get whacked by the income tax, then you must pay a second tax with AFTER TAX dollars on things you need to live on. This is double, triple and in some cases quadruple taxation. What was one of our Founding Fathers main reasons to split from England? Taxation.

Your money does not belong to the government at any level. Yes they need money to perform the task for which will do the community as a whole some good. But this is a Democratic Republic not a Socialist Republic. Our Founding Fathers did not envision the need for government to be involved in social programs. Indeed they knew such a thing would be a tremendous drain on our government and our taxes.

How do you pay for a tax cut? You don't. The government has to do with less that is fair and simple. The money is not theirs to begin with. A flat tax is fair, simple and would also get the IRS out of everybody's life. This flat tax needs to be applied to all levels of government and all fees and taxes need to be fully visible and labeled as such so everyone can see exactly what they are paying. No more hidden taxes. No more extra fees.

Pure, plain, simple. Just what the Founding Fathers intended and wanted. Low taxes is good for everyone including the poor.

Hey you and I earned our money, why should we not keep it?