Originally published March 23 2005
Tax reform is a hot topic, but no clear consensus emerges
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Washington is considering several forms of tax reform but, for all the talk, it still lacks direction. With flat tax proposals, a national sales tax, and a so-called "fair tax" that would reimburse poor families for the national sales tax, there are several directions in which it could go, but it is not clear if any of these reforms will actually supplant income tax.
As we begin to contemplate our income tax returns, it is good to know much thought is going into vastly simplifying or eliminating them.
A couple of similar ideas seem to be gaining much more acceptance in Washington than in the past.
The assumption is that the wealthy, who now manage to find ways to legally avoid many taxes, would pay a lot more.
The other tax change proposed is what has been termed the "fair tax."
Like the flat tax, it would eliminate deductions and would apply to everyone at the same rate.
A national sales tax would not require the filing of any tax returns.
At the close of the year you would have paid all you owe, assuming you and those you deal with are honest.
And the truth is that our dishonesty at tax time is what is prompting this enthusiasm in the Congress for a system, any system, that would create less incentive to cheat and make it more difficult to do so.
The latest figures available, for 2002, say $1 trillion in income paid was not reported by American taxpayers.
Even when the amount owed and by whom is known, the government reportedly has a difficult time collecting it.
As of 1999, the government could collect only 17 percent of the $277 billion individuals and companies didn't pay.
In describing all this, Bruce Bartlett of the National Center for Policy Analysis, also notes that a flat tax has been adopted and seems to work well in many of the former Communist countries, including Russia and those in Eastern Europe.
Other reports are that taxpayer compliance is much greater under that tax, though it's likely that whatever the Communists were doing was avoided for more reasons than complexity or unfairness.
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