tax reform

Economics Economics Questions
1

I know that Federal Spending needs to be cut by almost 100%, and the Constitution should be Amended so that the government couldn’t borrow money.

What libertarian-proposals for tax reform exist other than the FairTax and the FlatTax? Neither is really a good idea, IMO. A flat tax is still coercive, not flat (not everyone pays it) and it’s unpredictable because it’s based upon income.

Ron Paul believes Congress should enact taxes from time to time, and that’s the best I can think of. The only problem with that, is that there isn’t a limit to the rates of tarriffs and excises and how many excises they can pass. Plus, if American manufacturers started lobbying, then tarriffs could reach protectionist levels, and that wouldn’t be good.

2

Assuming that we do need government, specifically, the federal government, is saying a lot. But I’ll humor you for this. The military could easily be cut in half and still have the most powerful military in the world by a long shot. All the welfare could be abolished. Education, Health, Transportation, etc could all be left the states/privatized. This would be a huge step in the right direction.

Before the income tax, the federal government received all its money through tariffs. Assuming the federal government only spend s a small amount of money and free trade is constantly pushed for, then the tariffs won’t be that high.

3

Ditto:

4

Ok, I can’t do this. That made me feel dirty…

No state, Period.

5

No. Taxes need to be cut by at least 110% if not more. Thats how libertarian I am [8o|]

They are just ways of gathering taxes. I think once you get tax rates down really low it won’t matter how government is funded because the tax burden is so low. You could levy a 1% tax on dog food or something to pay for it.

if you’re reaally set on keeping a government imo the best option is athenian (lottery) democracy.

Or my personal favorite, lumpy-sack-of-potatoes government, where all government positions are occupied by lumpy sacks of potatoes. Here’s an illustration to build my case:

6

Well I’m an anarchist but while the state is around I actually support a progressive tax as a lesser evil. Just putting as many restrictions on taxation as possible I suppose.

7

Well, I’m an anarchist also, but minarchy is the best remotely possible in the U.S., so I’d be grateful for that, but then that’s just me.

I’ve always favored having only the 4 original executive cabinets, because those are the only non-welfare cabinets. I think if we Amended the Constitution to abolish all but the original 4, and also an Amendment to not conduct military ops off U.S. soil (all 900 or so pointless bases around the world closed=tons of waste gone), then we could get by on maybe a 10% tarriff.

It sickens me how much money in addition to security is wasted by having military bases off U.S. soil. Plus, military benefits are way too high.

8

I had an idea for a “tax” that would replace the income/sales tax scheme we have here in Mississippi:

In Mississippi, we have a combination income tax and sales tax. Now, on a national level, I support the Fair Tax as a better alternative to the current mess we have (www.fairtax.org). States could adopt a version of the Fair Tax, as Missouri has done recently. Mississippi could follow suit, and I believe it would be an improvement over how the government is currently funded. But I think there is a better way, still, for Mississippi to tax its citizens, as the Fair Tax shares a problem with all other tax systems proposed and implement to date: it is still involuntary. “That’s silly,” one might rightly claim. “How can any tax be voluntary? Who would pay it?”

Well, I got this interesting idea from listening to Rush Limbaugh the other day. He stated that he likes lotteries because they are taxes he doesn’t have to pay. So, I propose that Mississippi’s government fund itself through a series of voluntary, ad hoc lotteries. This would, of course, completely replace the income/sales tax scheme currently in force. The “tax lottery” would work thusly: the state legislature decides to build a bridge near Melonsquashville. It puts the project out for bid, and the winning bid amount becomes the basis for the new lottery. Say that the winning bid is $100 million; a certain amount, say 30% (or $30 million in this case) is added to the bid amount for the lottery winnings. People then are able to buy lottery tickets for the “Melonsquashville Bridge Lottery”. No money is spent on the project, and no winnings are paid out until the project is fully funded. If the project is not fully funded, the legislature can pay out the winnings, holding the remaining funds in a trust fund while a second lottery is implemented to make up the balance. Or, the state could simply extend the date, while increasing the winning amount. Or, the state could simply cancel the project altogether and pay out all the money.

Ongoing funding projects (universities, state highway patrol, paying interest on bond issues) would have continual lotteries, paying out weekly or monthly.

The appeal of this plan (I hope) is three fold: first, the tax is voluntary–no one is going to jail for “tax avoidance”; second, the ad hoc nature of the “tax” puts a limit on government spending, and allows the “taxpayer” to know exactly where his money is going; third, the lottery aspect acts as an incentive for people to “pay their taxes.”

It’s on my blog at townhall.com: http://cavalier973.blogtownhall.com/2009/10/27/a_better_tax_system_for_mississippi.thtml