Anyone ever heard of the 'tax-gap'?

[boedicca]

Progressive tax:
Teddy Roosevelt, “Socialist” Advocate of Progressive Taxation - Steven Waldman

TR was a Progressive first and foremost. He championed corporate reform, environmentalism and many other things that are now ecoliberfascist mainstays in an era where a correction to protect society from the abuse of a newly formed industrial age plutocracy was needed.

This blog means jack shit to the context of the conversation.

We do have to give Dot Com "10 Points For consistency". None of what he posts means jack shit to intelligent conversation.

 

[Dot Com]

Progressive tax:
Teddy Roosevelt, “Socialist” Advocate of Progressive Taxation - Steven Waldman

TR was a Progressive first and foremost. He championed corporate reform, environmentalism and many other things that are now ecoliberfascist mainstays in an era where a correction to protect society from the abuse of a newly formed industrial age plutocracy was needed.

This blog means jack shit to the context of the conversation.

I wasn't quoting the blog, I was quoting the TR quotes therein The estate tax for example or as Republicorp terms it.....

“A heavy progressive tax upon a very large fortune is in no way such a tax upon thrift or industry as a like would be on a small fortune. No advantage comes either to the country as a whole or to the individuals inheriting the money by permitting the transmission in their entirety of the enormous fortunes which would be affected by such a tax; and as an incident to its function of revenue raising, such a tax would help to preserve a measurable equality of opportunity for the people of the generations growing to manhood.

Read more: Teddy Roosevelt, “Socialist” Advocate of Progressive Taxation - Steven Waldman

 

[Dot Com]

Progressive tax:
Teddy Roosevelt, “Socialist” Advocate of Progressive Taxation - Steven Waldman

TR was a Progressive first and foremost. He championed corporate reform, environmentalism and many other things that are now ecoliberfascist mainstays in an era where a correction to protect society from the abuse of a newly formed industrial age plutocracy was needed.

This blog means jack shit to the context of the conversation.

We do have to give Dot Com "10 Points For consistency". None of what he posts means jack shit to intelligent conversation.

Why do you post on my threads then missy?

 

[Foxfyre]

The Tax Gap is mostly theoretical, unprovable nonsense developed by the IRS to justify expanding their budget:

* Nonfiling and underpayment of reported taxes account for less than 20 percent of the gross tax gap; underreporting on timely filed tax returns makes up the bulk of the gap. Underreporting on individual income tax returns alone accounted for about 68 percent of the gross tax gap in 2001.

* Over 60 percent of underreported individual tax is for business and self-employment income, which the IRS has no easy way to verify independently.

* Only 10.5 percent of the underreporting gap is attributable to corporate income tax, and only 1.4 percent to the estate tax and excise taxes.

* Individual income taxpayers fail to report about 54 percent of income from sources for which there is no information reporting, such as sole proprietorships. In contrast, less than 5 percent of income from easily verified sources-interest, dividends, and pensions-goes unreported. When income is subject to both information returns and tax withholding, as is the case with wages, just over 1 percent goes unreported.

What is the tax gap?


There is a very simple solution. Moving to a flat tax and getting rid of the loopholes and credits which make returns complex. The IRS is basically assuming people are cheating - without any real proof.

The only quarrel I would have with this not recognizing that a lot of unreported income from self-employed/sole proprietorships involves unreported wages paid under the table. And in a state like New Mexico where illegals get drivers licenses and there is no real hindrance to them voting, there is little incentive to look closely at those books where the wages don't seem to be consistent with the business activity. In our small business, we saw a lot of that kind of thing.

Of course all the 'underpayments' don't involve illegals, but protecting the illegals is a large reason that the underpayments are rarely detected both at the state and federal levels. I'm hoping our new governor who is not a protector of illegal activity will be able to do something, but she has a lot of resistance from a still mostly illegal friendly legislature still. And if we manage to elect somebody in 2012 with some common sense about these things, that will help too.

 

[Polk]

Last I heard, it stood at @ $500-700 billion/annually

Despite the voluntary compliance rate and vigorous enforcement by the IRS, a significant
amount of revenue remains unreported and unpaid. In 2005, the IRS estimated this gross tax gap to be approximately $345 billion.

I don't think that reduces the deficit. Where's the conservative, deficit-hawks on this board

I suppose you could start by investigating General Electric , they paid zero taxes last year.. the Obama connection I'd guess..

GE paid no taxes last year because of losses by their GE Capital arm. Outside of that division, the firm's effective tax rate was around 20%.

 

[Polk]

Well if the tax gap is mostly individuals I have two suggestions to eliminate it:

1. The 50% of Americans who pay little or no taxes should start paying their proportionate share, or. . . .

2. The government should make do with less money.

What do you consider a proportionate share?

 

[Foxfyre]

Well if the tax gap is mostly individuals I have two suggestions to eliminate it:

1. The 50% of Americans who pay little or no taxes should start paying their proportionate share, or. . . .

2. The government should make do with less money.

What do you consider a proportionate share?

Probably something between 10 and 20 percent above a modest exemption threshhold that would be paid on all income by all citizens without regard for their socioeconomic status or political affiliation. It would give the less affluent a dog in the process and an interest in fair tax policy and electing good people to Congress instead of those who will promise to keep them from having a dog in the process. And it would so free up savings, investments, property, and expansion at the upper levels that a whole lot more opportunity would be provided for the less affluent to become more affluent.

 

[boedicca]

TR was a Progressive first and foremost. He championed corporate reform, environmentalism and many other things that are now ecoliberfascist mainstays in an era where a correction to protect society from the abuse of a newly formed industrial age plutocracy was needed.

This blog means jack shit to the context of the conversation.

We do have to give Dot Com "10 Points For consistency". None of what he posts means jack shit to intelligent conversation.

Why do you post on my threads then missy?

Yuo = Moron

The forum is open for posting by all active members, you dim bulb.

 

[Dot Com]

We do have to give Dot Com "10 Points For consistency". None of what he posts means jack shit to intelligent conversation.

Why do you post on my threads then missy?

Yuo = Moron

The forum is open for posting by all active members, you dim bulb.

Who's "yuo"? Someone who can't spell?

 

[Polk]

The Tax Gap is mostly theoretical, unprovable nonsense developed by the IRS to justify expanding their budget:

...

There is a very simple solution. Moving to a flat tax and getting rid of the loopholes and credits which make returns complex. The IRS is basically assuming people are cheating - without any real proof.

There is actually pretty substantial evidence that tax fraud is widespread and repeated funding cuts have made it even larger for thieves to bilk the public. The current incentives are toward auditing lower income individuals, not because they are more likely to cheat, but because it's easier to figure out if they're cheating, which boosts your collection statistics.

 

[boedicca]

Why do you post on my threads then missy?

Yuo = Moron

The forum is open for posting by all active members, you dim bulb.

Who's "yuo"? Someone who can't spell?

Not only are you a moron, you clearly haven't retained enough about internet communication conventions to recognize that Yuo is an intentional misspelling when communicating with idiots:

2. yuo

1. Intentional mispelling of you for ironic effect. Typically used to indicate sub-par intelligence on the part of the implied "you."

yuo = fag

Urban Dictionary: yuo