NPR endorses Gary Johnson's tax reform plan... sort of

cannabineer said:

The plan seems mighty lean on Federal revenue. That raises the question of servicing the enormous debt incurred thus far. Was that mentioned/handled? (open question) How would you do that? cn

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My suggestion would be to return to the word of law in the 16th. Taft wrote this law to be a tax on corporate activity not on wages. The IRS is committing fraud by enforcing a law that does not exist.
But, when you consider for this to happen, the President will have to admit to said fraud and hope the villagers don't start lighting the torches.
So, at the end of the day, we are caught in a vortex of swirling water disappearing down the toilet and there is no way out of it.

edit: Send the bill for the debt to the Federal Reserve.

Mr Neutron said:

My suggestion would be to return to the word of law in the 16th. Taft wrote this law to be a tax on corporate activity not on wages. The IRS is committing fraud by enforcing a law that does not exist.
But, when you consider for this to happen, the President will have to admit to said fraud and hope the villagers don't start lighting the torches.
So, at the end of the day, we are caught in a vortex of swirling water disappearing down the toilet and there is no way out of it.

edit: Send the bill for the debt to the Federal Reserve.

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you sound like a petulant child.

"taxes are fraud! THE IRS IS SUCH A DOODIE HEAD! THE 16TH AMENDMENT DOES NOT EVEN EXIST!"

Mr Neutron said:

My suggestion would be to return to the word of law in the 16th. Taft wrote this law to be a tax on corporate activity not on wages. The IRS is committing fraud by enforcing a law that does not exist.
But, when you consider for this to happen, the President will have to admit to said fraud and hope the villagers don't start lighting the torches.
So, at the end of the day, we are caught in a vortex of swirling water disappearing down the toilet and there is no way out of it.

edit: Send the bill for the debt to the Federal Reserve.

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I would have to say that the word of law as I read it does not preclude individual income taxation. I would also think that taxation of corporations only runs sharply against prevailing sentiment by the free-marketeer contingent.
I agree about the swirling toilet, but probably from a different perspective. cn

cannabineer said:

I would have to say that the word of law as I read it does not preclude individual income taxation. I would also think that taxation of corporations only runs sharply against prevailing sentiment by the free-marketeer contingent.
I agree about the swirling toilet, but probably from a different perspective. cn

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To solve an impasse during the 1909 tariff debate, Taft proposed income taxes for corporations and a constitutional amendment to remove the apportionment requirement for taxes on incomes from property (taxes on dividends, interest, and rents), on June 16, 1909.[SUP][61][/SUP] His proposed tax on corporate net income was 1% on net profits over $5,000. It was designated an excise on the privilege of doing business as a corporation whose stockholders enjoyed the privilege of limited liability, and not a tax on incomes as such. In 1911, the Supreme Court, in Flint v. Stone Tracy Co., upheld the tax. Receipts grew from $21 million in the fiscal year 1910 to $34.8 million in 1912.
In July 1909, a proposed amendment to allow the federal government to tax incomes was passed unanimously in the Senate and by a vote of 318 to 14 in the House. It was quickly ratified by the states, and on February 3, 1913, it became a part of the Constitution as the Sixteenth Amendment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft

Yes, and imo a key phrase in that amendment is "from whatever source derived", which I interpret as including individual income. cn

cannabineer said:

Yes, and imo a key phrase in that amendment is "from whatever source derived", which I interpret as including individual income. cn

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they will tell you that it wasn't properly ratified, or doesn't even exist, or some other 16th amendment conspiracy theory.

Imo the smartest "tax reform" we can have right now is to allow the "cuts and breaks" to lapse and to fill in some of the more egregious dodges, esp. things like depletion and depreciation writeoffs in industry. I hate taxes as much as the next guy, but I hate debt even more. Imo the tax "breaks" and rebates were populism of the basest sort: throw money at the constituents and let them feel like they scored ... and divert their attention from the next jazzhanded nastiness. I think that we're on the skinny end of the Laffer curve at this time. cn

ceterum censeo vote NO on any and all bond measures!