The Tax Code. What would you do?

[arlo]

Eliminate refundable tax credits
Eliminate Schedule A.
Replace Self-employment tax with 401K deduction
What do you say.

[Jiggers]

Eliminate the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

[WhiteOleander]

Eliminate the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

I agree with this idea. However, I think failure to file would skyrocket. Those that are Sch C or wages that meet filing requirements, but only file to get the EIC would quit filing. There aren't enough agents to track them down!!! If they don't get something out of it, they won't file.

[David1980]

I agree with this idea. However, I think failure to file would skyrocket. Those that are Sch C or wages that meet filing requirements, but only file to get the EIC would quit filing. There aren't enough agents to track them down!!! If they don't get something out of it, they won't file.

I don't think that's really a major issue. If they're currently getting money from the government and we change it to not filing the government saves money. So worst case scenario, less money is paid out. If they actually do have income (as opposed to making $14,000 as "worker") most probably will get a 1099-MISC or 1099-K and they can be property followed up upon (just like we go after non-filers that aren't filing due to large refunds.)

[veritas]

Eliminate

Gift and Inheritance taxes.

Cut the corporate rate to 10% max.

Allow foreign earned profits to return at a low or zero rate.

That should get things rolling.

[Jiggers]

To spur the economy I would do the following:

Reinstate the investment tax credit. But for 100% American made in the US products only.

[DTS]

I like all of the above.

[Burke]

Replace Self-employment tax with 401K deduction
What do you say.

Elaborate on this one a little. No one pays SE?

[taxea]

I agree with this idea. However, I think failure to file would skyrocket. Those that are Sch C or wages that meet filing requirements, but only file to get the EIC would quit filing. There aren't enough agents to track them down!!! If they don't get something out of it, they won't file.

obviously those who would not file because of no gain would be less of a loss than paying them the EIC and child credit in the long run. I say they should get a better job.

[newbie]

obviously those who would not file because of no gain would be less of a loss than paying them the EIC and child credit in the long run. I say they should get a better job.

How do you know they're not trying to get a better job?

[arlo]

Self-employment tax

I am self-employed and I have to pay self-employment taxes (social security) on any
profit that I make. I would much rather pay into a 401K than a social security system
that might not be there and feel much better about it.

.

[Burke]

Eliminate all filing statuses except MFJ and Single. Allow filing under either.

[kpangelinan]

Eliminate refundable tax credits
Eliminate Schedule A.
Replace Self-employment tax with 401K deduction
What do you say.

Eliminate refundable tax credits (yes, even though the lower class would get hit hard here...an unsustainable benefit the govt has provided to the lower class)

Eliminate Schedule A. (yup, would make the rich pay a little more and stop a lot of the special interests and lobbying in Washington for charitable deductions, mortgage interest, etc.)

Replace Self-employment tax with 401K deduction (ABSOLUTELY....this would be awesome for the self-employed who from my experience always suffer when it comes to their retirement)

I'd eliminate (maybe temporarily) the corporate income tax to bring manufacturing jobs back into the US and make us more globally competitive with products.

[taxxcpa]

Tax code

One thing I would suggest would be to allow corporations to deduct the dividends they pay, then tax dividends the same as any other kind of income to individuals. This would eliminate the double tax.

Since capital gains are partly a tax on inflation, I would index the basis of capital assets to an inflation factor for the year of acquisition.
I would go back to some of the features the income tax had back in the 1950s. At that time you got 10% of your AGI or $ 1000 maximum as a standard deduction. I would raise the $ 1000 maximum to something like $ 20,000. I would then eliminate Schedule A.

If there was still a graduated scale of tax percentages, I would split MFJ AGI 50/50 and calculate the tax that amount, then double it. That would keep the tax bracket down.

I would only allow exemptions for up to three children.

Any welfare program would be totally separate from the tax code. Instead of an EIC there might be some sort of public service employment for those able to work. Welfare should not be a career. It should be a temporary thing.

I would cut all congressional pensions and impose term limits which eliminate career politicians.

[Gary2]

I'm not sure whether the question includes, at the end, an implicit "... to simplify the tax code" or "... to fix the economy" or " ... to make it fairer" or "... if you could change it any way you wanted." The problem is that the answers are different depending on the goal.