Are you not tired of paying income taxes? The income tax system is a relic of the past that has become a real burden on society. Every year we race to meet the deadline for filing tax returns, either because we want refunds or because we owe taxes to the government.
I don't like owing taxes. It feels like a huge burden. Worse, I know the government is borrowing money and paying interest on that loan because it doesn't have the tax money I owe. In most years I try to have enough tax withheld that I get a refund. That way I know the government is not borrowing money to cover what I owe in taxes.
But what I would really like to see is a mix of the national sales tax and a light-weight progressive income tax structure. He is not well-known but Republican US Presidential candidate Mark Everson supports changing our revenue system. What makes Everson special is that he is a former director of the Internal Revenue Service. As an IRS guy, he wants to replace most income tax obligations with a national sales tax.
Opponents of the national sales tax say it will hit low income families hard because they spend more of their incomes on consumption than wealthy families. Everson proposes that we help low-income families by providing financial assistance. At the same time, he suggests we can retain a healthy progressive tax model for upper-income families to ensure they contribute their fair share toward the national budget.
Everson also wants to penalize bankers who break the law. This is the kind of serious fiscal leadership the United States has been needing for decades. And you have to ask why more people are not supporting candidates like Everson, who seem to speak for middle Americans better than the party favorites on both sides of the aisle.
