Oh great, the Republicans want a FLAT TAX

[Dauphin]

Maybe we need to incentivise people to become uberrich. I suggest a progressive tax system as currently is, except anyone earning more than $5,000,0000 a year should not have to pay any taxes at all. That will give incentive to those who are lazy and only earning $4,000,000 a year to pull their finger out and work harder.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

yeah, tax the poor so they have more incentive to make money.

[Patroklos]

a person making less than or equal to the countries median should get taxed at a rate of zero percent.

Paying youer taxes is basically the only civic duty left. If you don't make the poor pay you have just made second class citizens out of all of them. Imagine the people who already think they are lazy burdens to society.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by JohnT
The person making $17,000 a year would pay $765 in income taxes under Steve Forbes'* old tax plan, not $3,400. Currently, using a standard deduction, they pay $1,215.

One thing about the flat tax (again, proposed by Forbes), is that the standard deductions are increased to $12,500 for individuals and $5,000 for dependent children, so that a family of four would have their first $35,000 of income tax free.

*Tax rate of 17%, deductions: $5,000 dependent, $12,500 single, $25,000 married.

That's all well and good except... How do we cut everyone's taxes in half and not destroy the budget? It seems like with our huge debt and Bush's ever generous spending increases we can't afford to keep cutting taxes. At least not if you give a rat's behind about the nation's finances.

[Ben Kenobi]

If you cut, and then people's pay goes up, then your revenues don't decrease.

The thought behind this scheme is that lowering the amount everyone pays across the board, will give a greater incentive for people to earn more money.

Of course, this only works to a certain point.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Right Ben... the problem is what if you get the certain point wrong. It could lead to utter budgetary disaster.

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara


No, everyone should be taxed. If you pay no taxes, then you have no incentive not to support fiscal irresponsibility in the government. Everyone taxed means everyone has a stake.

What's this? Communists for fiscal responsibility? Has the world gone mad? What's next? Muslims for Greater Israel? Crips for War on Drugs? NRA for gun control?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Actually I'm sure the Crips are for the War on Drugs... it just drives their profits up .

[Dinner]

We already have an ugly budgetary disaster and if Bush cuts taxes still more without cutting spending then the next generation is really screwed. The problem is Bush cuts taxes but drives spending way, way up. $10 income & $25 spent is not a good thing.

[Ben Kenobi]

We're benefitting from this approach, combined with deficit reduction, and spending decreases.

In fact, most of the costs have been frozen, and this has been enough to get the budget balanced.

Now, we need to start paying off the debt so that we stop paying so much money to finance the interest on the debt.

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Right Ben... the problem is what if you get the certain point wrong. It could lead to utter budgetary disaster.

There's a certain degree of irony that a person with your avatar should be making such a statement. Beware that The Reagan may haunt your dreams.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well with the GDP at the level it was, I wouldn't really consider it budgetary disaster... now if it was at 80% of GDP, then you'd have a point .

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
We're benefitting from this approach, combined with deficit reduction, and spending decreases.

In fact, most of the costs have been frozen, and this has been enough to get the budget balanced.

Now, we need to start paying off the debt so that we stop paying so much money to finance the interest on the debt.

Hey, we used to have budgets so well balanced that we were paying off our debt, only it was under a different President. Does anyone remember his name? It doesn't matter, he wasn't a true conservative, so he obviously couldn't have been running the country that well. Then some folks came along and suggested that we needed a real conservative running the country. Now we have one and WEEEEEE DOGGGIIEEEESSSSS, is this country being run better or not?

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Actually I'm sure the Crips are for the War on Drugs... it just drives their profits up .

Yeah, but they can't go public with that. It would ruin their image.

[Fake Boris]

Originally posted by Dauphin
Maybe we need to incentivise people to become uberrich. I suggest a progressive tax system as currently is, except anyone earning more than $5,000,0000 a year should not have to pay any taxes at all. That will give incentive to those who are lazy and only earning $4,000,000 a year to pull their finger out and work harder.