(08-28-2024, 03:12 PM)Caldrac Wrote:

(08-28-2024, 02:59 PM)mikesez Wrote: A tax on "unrealized capital gains" might work like the "intangibles tax" that FL used to have and many states still have.

I don't know if the Feds have the authority under the Constitution to implement such a thing.  

I do know there's a reason FL got rid of it - it's a big headache that many people evade and it doesn't raise very much money.  It's just a bad idea all around.

Thoughts on a flat tax?

Too many to list.
It would cause too much disruption to implement, although not at much as the "fair tax" that was proposed around 2008.  It would have the poorest paying more and the richest paying less so it will be very hard to elect members of Congress who actually want to do it.

I believe in cutting the income tax.  For everyone.  I'd replace the revenue with a carbon tax and a tariff that is based on the foreign country's carbon emissions.  But I don't think you can eliminate income taxes for the high earners and still maintain even a minimum amount of social welfare spending.  We'd go back to 1912 and it wouldn't be fun for anyone.

I want to take steps so that the average person never has to file any tax return.  They just get a letter with their summary for the year and an opportunity to dispute it if something was missed.

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