If you performed the man on the street interview, and asked people any or all of the following, the results would be alarming:
1. How much did you pay in state and federal taxes last year?
2. Do you know what your state and/or federal tax rate/bracket is?
3. What percentage of your monthly pay goes to taxes?
4. What forms of taxation do your pay? (SS, Medicare, Fed Income, State,etc.))
The point is that most people can not answer any of the above because its nothing within their control so it gets none of their attention. So when there is a tax tea party, most don't take part because they are ignorant and unaware of the facts. What if instead of the employer being solely responsible for withholding these taxes, we involved the employee/taxpayer. If the taxpayer was required to approve the withholdings on a monthly basis, by physically re-writing the tax amounts and then signing, suddenly the significance of the amounts withheld would be thrust into their purview.
Comments (12)
It is not just the Smokers who are tired of being punished with Punitive Taxation. This relentless attack on Americans, Business, and Jobs by Democrats must end if this Country is going to recover from this recession/depression. Mr. President you are a smart man and you know I am right. Please try to put the American People and your country first.
Not sure where you're going with this one.
Don't people look at their tax forms before they send them in? I know I do my own taxes, so I know to the penny what I spent.
And as for rates and brackets, that information is public and easily accessible.
Now, if all this information was secret, you might have a point. But at the moment? Not so much.
Not sure where I'm going, well I am. You are talking about what you pay and I am talking about how much of our money they take. Perhaps you are in the group of those who are more than happy to pay 60% plus of your income in Taxes for everything from bridges in Alaska to Fish in Florida. I respect that if you are, but I wish you'd let the Government know so they can tax you more instead of me.
The fact that you are on this forum means that you are more aware and involved than those that I'm referring to. I'm referring to the masses who vote in these people in congress that push these taxes. I'm referring to those people who don't do their own taxes or if they do they use turbotax and just answer the question without really knowing what is going on. I'm referring to the people who believe everything they hear on the nightly news. They do no research themselves, they are not interested.
Imagine if they had to write a check each month to pay the taxes withheld.
Split63
We are on the same page. I could not vote for someone who was telling me he was going to take my job and raise my taxes. I may slightly disagree with the not knowing part because I think they do. I just think they got caught up in their emotions to do a good thing, and did not believe he would do, or they would do, what we are seeing them do today. Believe me it is going to get worst, but thanks for speaking up. I just hope someone besides me is reading your wise word. Like those people in Congress who want us to vote for them to abuse us again.
How about on every receipt, every invoice, everything showing a tax charge have a line per charge stating:
This tax of you is courtesy of _________.
All senators and congress like name recognition, don't they?
I want the name of who submitted the bill first in that blank.
No - we have to limit the amount of money we allow the Federal government to spend: http://pushbackuntil.com
I think you should consider a different title, Tax Simplification and Awareness Act. People should be sent a notice from the IRS every year that states the approximate percentage that they paid in taxes, ALL TAXES.
I don't need to know this. It is all 535 people in Congress and the Lifesyle, Smoking, Food, Enviroment, and Drink Police that created these onerous taxes, and we all know exactly what they are doing to us. We just don't have the courage to vote them out of office, and we keep hoping the Messiahs of America will save us from them. Well maybe we see that doesn't work now and we can start to cast our votes for the person who comes closest to what we believe is fair. I know exactly what they are doing to me!!!
Its important that something like this be constructed so that it can't be ignored. It should not be like all the disclosures found in the real-estate. People just sign and ignore the contents. That is why I proposed that the taxpayer would be presented with a form from the employer and on the form is the monthly taxes. The taxpayer would then be required to rewrite the amounts in some box(s) and then sign. I personally do not want the hassle that this imposes monthly, but I want some way of forcing awareness.
Yes, it is the 535 people in Congress - an inept, irresponsible, out-of-touch, gutless, impotent Congress - that are the problem. Because the majority of them are actually Utopians, not statesmen or stateswomen. And they spend their time creating their Utopian dream at our expense.
So we, the people, have to rise up and tell them enough is enough: http://pushbackuntil.com.
Now I think dlrichter and I are getting there. We have been convinced that taxation, the tax system, even under it's current form, is the problem. I adamantly disagree. If we went to a consumption tax or a fair tax tommorrow, those at the Federal, State, and Local levels would simply find another way to tax the American People to fund their good intention projects. We must vote in people who believe that punitive and onerous taxation is not the way to build a great America, and when they lie to us we must vote them out and demand a refund of their pork spending.