Cutting Taxes

By Gerald "Jerry" Hashimoto

How to reduce taxes and simplify the IRS tax code

ELIMINATE THESE TAXES

Citizens of the United States are taxed by Uncle Sam ten ways to Sunday. There are a host of taxes besides just income tax; one very efficient way to reduce the tax burden is to simply start eliminating them. Not only with this cut taxes, but eliminates the time, money, and resources it takes to fulfill the bureaucratic cost of obeying the tax laws.

Which ones should we eliminate? Let us put on our thinking caps and come up with a list. Here is mine:

• Payroll Tax. Some say that 47% of all people do not pay federal income tax; not true, because they are still paying 7.5% payroll tax. Just eliminate it. Everyone, including the poor, will get a permanent pay raise. Also, the labor cost to businesses will go down by 7.5%; they might actually start to hire more people with this new labor cost savings. This, along with increase consumer spending, will give us more jobs.
• Capital Gains Tax. Capital gains means capital accumulation, entrepreneurship, start-up business, and venture capital. Eliminating the tax on this potent source of business capital and job creation will give us more jobs.
• Alternative Minimum Tax, Estate Tax. These taxes hurt small business owners. These are the people who own that small grocery store on the corner, the mechanic who owns the independent garage down the street, and the guy who fixes leaky roofs. We should stop punishing these business owners, since they are the ones who create most new jobs. With this new tax cut, they might be save enough to hire more people. Federal Excise Tax on Fuel. Just get rid of it. Now, every time you fill up the gas tank on your car, you will save $2. Those independent truckers lined up at the Port of Oakland will save $25 every time they fill up their 100 gallon diesel fuel tanks. So, everyone who uses a vehicle for their job will get a break, and increase consumer spending. What is your list? Go to the discussions tab on my Facebook page and let me know.

This is the mother of all taxes. The tax code is very long, very complicated, and very Byzantine, but this is by design. Congress likes to do social engineering with it. There are oodles of special allowances, exemptions, and assorted goodies for specific people and organizations. This, too, is by design, because it gives Congress power and influence over big labor, big business, and the rich. Every April 15, the press regales us with stories that Americans waste hundreds of billions of dollars each and every year trying to obey this onerous tax, not to mention the stress and wasted time of each and every citizen. We need a new way to pay for the Federal government. There are many good ideas to fix the IRS code, but here are my favorites:

• Flat Tax. Everyone pays the same, and you can file your yearly income tax on a postcard.
• Value Added Tax. How about totally eliminating the income tax, and replace it 100% with a VAT? We would never have to file a 1040 ever again, we would no longer have withholding from our paychecks but receive 100% of our wages, and do not forget all those unemployed IRS employees and auditors.