I bet you think you got me there, don't you? If you live so far away from your work that you need to use something other than your feet to get there, that is a choice not a necessity. .
I'm not here to get you. I'm here for a productive discussion on federal tax reform. As to your remark about using one's feet to get to one's job, tell that to the millions of wager earners living in New York City who spend a considerable amount of their earned wage to get to and from work. Why do you have a problem with wage earners deducting all necessary outlays and expenses to arrive at a taxable profit or gain? And why should a wage earner not be allowed to deduct the value of their time and labor, which is a necessary outlay, from gross receipts in order to calculated an alleged profit or gain? Are these items not the "property" which a working person invests in pursuit of a "profit or gain" , the value of which must be deducted from gross receipts to calculate a taxable profit or gain?
Under a flat tax on incomes the constitutional meaning of what is and what is not taxable incomes is a vital question which must be answered. Seems to me the meaning of taxable “income” boils down to profits and or gains, collectively called “income”. And to arrive at one’s “income” all necessary outlays and expenses must be deducted from gross receipts to arrive at one’s “income”.
Income from a business which was wholly illegal was held subject to income tax in United States v. Sullivan, 274 U.S. 259. Nevertheless, it was necessary to determine what that income was, and the cost of an illegal purchase of liquor was subtracted from proceeds of the illegal sale of the liquor in order to arrive at the gain from the illegal transaction which were subjected to a tax in that case. And, in Sullenger vs. Commissioner, 11 T.C. 1076 (1948) the Court allowed the business owner [who made illegal purchases of meat] to deduct the cost of meat purchased at a higher price then set by the Office of Price Administration, a World War II price control agency, which he then resold for profit. The “income” from those sales was being taxed which was at issue in the case. The Court went on to cite Sullivan and concluded:
“No authority has been cited for denying to this taxpayer the cost of goods sold in computing his profit, which profit alone is gross income for income tax purposes.”
So, what is the cost of goods sold by a wage earner? is it not his/her time, labor, skills, etc? The value of which must be deducted from gross receipts in order to arrive at an alleged profit or gain?
JWK
"The property which every man has in his own labor, as it is the original foundation of all other property, so it is the most sacred and inviolable. The patrimony of the poor man lies in the strength and dexterity of his own hands; and to hinder him from employing this strength and dexterity in what manner he thinks proper, without injury to his neighbor, is a plain violation of this most sacred property." ___ Butchers’ Union Co. v. Crescent City Co., 111 U.S. 746 (1884)
