[quote name='willardhaven']A flat tax is regressive.
Egofed, I am not going to change your mind about the poor in America. Either your last statement is satire or you are out of your mind.
Knoell, my statement about the IRS was a general statement about the situation. I agree that the tax code is too complicated, almost
everyone here does. To single out the EITC is disingenuous. I also think it's funny that spending is only on people's minds since the conservative think tanks started pushing it.[/QUOTE]
"A
regressive tax is a
tax imposed in such a manner that the
tax rate decreases as the amount subject to taxation increases.
"
"Proportional (flat) taxes maintain equal
tax incidence regardless of the
ability-to-pay and do not shift the incidence disproportionately to those with a higher or lower economic well-being"
Check out the definition of regressive and progressive taxes. A flat tax is the most fair, simple, and EQUAL system that we could institute, as long as all the other BS is removed. Call it semantics, but a flat tax is NOT regressive. 10% is 10%. For the record, I am against corporate welfare even more so than personal welfare.
Am I out of my mind to want to end generational poverty? What has our gov't effectively done to end this? Is there an end in sight?
As far as tax credits, why should we have them? If you decide to have kids, aren't you actually increasing the need for more gov'tal resources? Why should your tax burden be decreased because of a personal choice? As far as the EITC, you can argue its effectiveness pragmatically, but to say that it is fair and equal to all people is false. Its as bad as the offshore accounts and other tax loopholes used by the rich. I view the mortgage deduction in the same light. Don't renters need tax deductions?
The government would serve us better by not instituting these discriminatory programs and just treat all citizens the same. What a novel concept.
Turbotax tells me my tax rate is 8.9% this year. What the hell?