THE TAX CODE MUST BE DESTROYED!

I am a tax professional who has been preparing 1040s for individuals in all walks of life since 1972.  As a tax preparer I know full well that the United States Tax Code has grown into a complicated and convoluted “mucking fess”.

The major reason for tax return errors, by both paid tax preparers and taxpayers who self-prepare, is the excessive complexity of the Code. It needs to be shredded and totally rewritten from scratch.

Bring me the head of the US Tax Code!

Like Frankenstein, the Tax Code must be destroyed.  It must be shredded and totally rewritten from scratch, acknowledging that the one and only purpose of the Tax Code is to raise the money necessary to fund the government.

The new Tax Code must –

(1) Be simple – easy for everyone to understand.  Simplicity for simplicity’s sake.

(2) Be fair and equitable - treat all taxpayers equally.

(3) Be consistent – treat specific conditions, situations, and activities, and maintain specific definitions and descriptions, the same in all instances.

(4) Encourage savings, investment, and growth.

(5) Index for inflation all allowable deductions and credits.

The new Tax Code must not –

(1) Be used for social engineering, to redistribute income or wealth, or to deliver social welfare and other government benefits.

(2) Encourage or discourage certain economic decisions (other than savings, investment, and growth), or provide exclusive benefits for specific industries, business activities, or classes of taxpayers.

(3) Contain any refundable credits, or any phase-outs, exclusions or adjustments based on Adjusted Gross Income or Modified Adjusted Gross Income. 

(4) Contain any “alternative” tax calculation systems (such as the current “Alternative Minimum Tax”).

(5) Contain any temporary deductions, credits, benefits, or provisions.

A new Code would state “Everything is taxable, except . . .” and “Nothing is deductible, except . . .”.  Only those “excepts” – exclusions and deductions - that are absolutely necessary and appropriate, in the context of the “musts” and “must nots” listed above, should be added back.

The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan, educational organization, has earned a reputation for independence and credibility. All Tax Foundation research is guided by the principles of sound tax policy, which should serve as touchstones for policymakers and taxpayers everywhere.  It has identified key principles of sound tax policy:

Simplicity: Administrative costs are a loss to society, and complicated taxation undermines voluntary compliance by creating incentives to shelter and disguise income.

Transparency: Tax legislation should be based on sound legislative procedures and careful analysis. A good tax system requires that taxpayers be informed and understand how tax assessment, collection, and compliance works. There should be open hearings, and revenue estimates should be fully explained and replicable.

Neutrality: Taxes should not encourage or discourage certain economic decisions. The purpose of taxes is to raise needed revenue, not to favor or punish specific industries, activities, and products.

Stability: When tax laws are in constant flux, long-range financial planning is difficult. Lawmakers should avoid enacting temporary tax laws, including tax holidays and amnesties.

No Retroactivity: As a corollary to the principle of stability, taxpayers should be able to rely with confidence on the law as it exists when contracts are signed and transactions are completed.

Broad Bases and Low Rates: As a corollary to the principle of neutrality, lawmakers should avoid enacting targeted deductions, credits, and exclusions. If tax preferences are kept to a minimum, substantial revenue can be raised with low tax rates. Broad-based taxes also produce relatively stable tax revenues from year to year.

Put simply, good tax policy promotes economic growth by focusing on raising revenue in the least distortive manner possible.

This new Code would state “Everything is taxable, except . . .” and “Nothing is deductible, except . . .”.  Only those “excepts” – exclusions and deductions - that are absolutely necessary and appropriate, in the context of the “musts” and “must nots” listed above, should be added back.

One of the biggest problems with the current system is the inappropriate use of the Tax Code to deliver social welfare and other government benefits – hence its appearance as #1 on our list of “must nots”.  This practice is not only inappropriate, but it also invites and encourages tax fraud.

The Internal Revenue Service, and the tax professional community, should not be required to act as Social Workers and administer and verify government program benefit payments.

I am not saying that the government shouldn’t provide financial assistance to the working poor and college students, provide encouragements for purchasing health insurance, making energy-saving purchases and improvements and other “worthy” benefits.  What I am saying is that such assistance and encouragements should not be distributed via the tax return.

The benefits provided by the Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable Child Tax Credit should be distributed via existing federal welfare programs for Aid to Families with Dependent Children. The benefits provided by the education tax credits should be distributed via existing federal programs for providing direct student financial aid. The benefits provided by the Premium Tax Credit, energy credits, and other such personal and business credits should be distributed via direct discount payments to the appropriate vendors or direct rebate programs funded by the budget of the appropriate Cabinet department.

Distributing the benefits in this manner is much better than the current method for many reasons:

1. It would be easier for the government to verify that the recipient of the subsidy, discount or rebate actually qualified for the money, greatly reducing fraud. And tax preparers, and the IRS, would no longer need to take on the added responsibility of having to verify that a person qualifies for government benefits.

2. The qualifying individuals would get the money at the “point of purchase,” when it is really needed, and not have to go “out of pocket” up front and wait to be reimbursed when they file their tax return.

3. We would be able to calculate the true income tax burden of individuals. Many of the current “47 percent” would still be receiving government benefits, but it would not be done through the income tax system, so they would actually be paying federal income tax.

4. We could measure the true cost of education, housing, health, energy and welfare programs in the federal budget because benefit payments would be properly allocated to the appropriate departments.

Unfortunately, my dream of true substantive tax reform will probably remain just that - a dream.  Tax law is written by Congress the members of Congress have absolutely no knowledge of or experience with the practicality of tax return preparation.  And, of course, there are the personal agendas of Congresspersons, who rely on the political contributions of lobbyists working to maintain specific tax breaks, and who more often than not, especially today, avoid independent thought and merely do what they are told by their Party.

WE NEED A NEW MAJOR POLITICAL PARTY

It is clear that the Republican Party has lost all credibility as a legitimate political party.  It has abandoned all honor and integrity and abandoned true conservative philosophy and policies by embracing Trump and “Trumpism” and the agenda of the “Religious Right”.  As I previously posted “The Republican Party is Dead!”

A new true conservative-based party needs to be created based on a platform that embraces the following conservative principles -

·  Protect & Maximize Individual Rights

·  Ensure a Limited Government

·  Uphold the Rule of Law

·  Commitment to Federalism and the Separation of Powers

·  Maintain Free & Open Markets (Economic & Social)

·  Fiscal Responsibility

This new party must totally reject the political agenda of the so-called “Evangelicals” and the Religious Right, which seeks to minimize individual rights by having the government force the specific religious beliefs of Christian fundamentalism, related to  abortion, sexual preference and identity and same-sex marriage among other issues, on citizens via legislation in direct contradiction to the Constitutional separation or Church and State and the conservative tenets of protecting and maximizing individual rights and ensuring a limited government.

And this party must, in its conservative-based support and defense of the Constitution and the intent of the founding fathers in the development of the Constitution and its amendments, acknowledge that the real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies – the militia – would be maintained for the defense of the state, and has absolutely nothing to do with a citizen’s absolute and unfettered right to possess any type of weapon.

I believe the Republican Party is too far gone to be able to be properly reformed.  A new party to replace it really is needed.

What do you think?

POLITICS AND RELIGION

I have never been able to understand why Republican candidates feel they must pander to fundamentalist Christians – aka “evangelicals”, the “religious right”, and the Tea Party – in order to be perceived as a true conservative.

I also find it the height of hypocrisy that these so-called Christians continue to support and defend the most “un-Christian” President in our history. 

It has always been my understanding that one of the basic tenets of conservatism is limited government – the belief that the government should intrude in one’s personal and business life as little as possible.  The role of government should be to provide citizens with the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals; conservatism emphasizes empowerment of the individual to solve problems.

Another quote from Barry Goldwater, the politician most often credited with sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement in the 1960s –

“I am a conservative Republican, but I believe in democracy and the separation of church and state. The conservative movement is founded on the simple tenet that people have the right to live life as they please as long as they don't hurt anyone else in the process.”

Contrary to the belief in limited government, “evangelicals” want the government to tell citizens how to live their lives by forcing the specific religious beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity on them.  The Republican Party has perverted conservative philosophy to include the tenets of extreme fundamentalist Christianity.

Religious belief is personal and individual.  It should never be legislated, or used as the basis for legislation.  One’s religious beliefs may cause a person to become involved in political activity as a way of helping society and one’s “fellow man”, but one religious group’s specific religious beliefs and interpretations should NEVER be made into law.

I agree with Susan B Anthony, who said, “I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.”

Founding father Thomas Jefferson correctly observed, “Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law”.

Murder is not illegal because God said, "Thou Shall Not Kill".  It is illegal because it takes away the victim's civil right to life as guaranteed by the Constitution.

If your religious beliefs instruct you that abortion is bad – then do not have an abortion.  If your religious beliefs tell you that homosexuality and same-sex marriage is wrong - then don’t practice homosexuality or marry someone who is the same sex as you.  But you cannot force your specific religious belief on your neighbor, regardless of any sincere desire to save him or her from the “fires of hell”.

Returning once again to Barry Goldwater, from decades ago -

"Today's so-called 'conservatives' don't even know what the word means. They think I've turned liberal because I believe a woman has a right to an abortion. That's a decision that's up to the pregnant woman, not up to the Pope or some do-gooders or the Religious Right. It's not a conservative issue at all."

The religious can certainly "preach the gospel" to those who will listen, but cannot make the government force non-believers to follow their perception or interpretation of the gospel.

America is NOT a “Christian country” - it is not a religious country, period.  The idea of religious freedom and the separation of Church and State is a cornerstone of American democracy.  It is one of the main reasons the first settlers came here.  Separation of Church and State means that the government cannot tell a citizen how to worship or what to believe.  It also guarantees the right of citizens NOT to worship and NOT to believe.

I remember seeing a sign at a diner may years ago that said –

THE LAST TIME WE MIXED POLITICS WITH RELIGION PEOPLE GOT BURNED AT THE STAKE.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Enough is enough!  America needs strict national gun control legislation now.  We have had too many mass shooting tragedies at schools, churches and public places not to act. 

As I explained in “The 2nd Amendment is Obsolete", the ability of a citizen to own a gun for individual personal use – protection, hunting, target shooting - is a privilege and not a right.  Like. as one op-ed I came across suggests, owning a car.  “Not everyone can or should own a car.  Driving requires education, registration as a driver, and insurance on our vehicle.  Our government regulates how fast we go and assesses fines for infractions, and it can take back that privilege.”  Individual gun ownership is no different.

In addition to banning all assault weapons and passing a “red flag” law, ownership of a gun must be treated in the same manner we treat automobiles and driving.

* All gun owners must have a valid license, which must be renewed every year. The initial issuance of a license must be based on a thorough and comprehensive background check.

* To get a license a person must pass a written test and a “practical” test. Gun licensees must demonstrate they know how to properly operate and maintain a gun.

* Underage individuals must not be allowed to own guns.  The minimum age for a driving license is usually 17, but the minimum age for owning a traditional gun should be 18.

* Gun owners must have insurance similar to auto insurance.

* We must title and tag each gun at point of purchase, so each gun is registered in a local data base and law enforcement can know if a person is stockpiling an excessive number of guns.

Guns must be inspected at least every other year.

American lives are more important than political contributions.  Fuck the hypocritical Republican Party!  And fuck the NRA!

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS DEAD!

The Republican Party has totally abandoned all honor, integrity and responsibility, has abandoned the Constitution, American values, and traditional Republican and true conservative philosophy, and has lost credibility as a legitimate mainstream political party. 

The Republican party is truly dead and now must be buried.

By embracing Trump and “Trumpism”, and truly becoming the “Party of Trump”, the once Grand Old Party has also embraced corruption, cowardice, deceit, dishonesty, hypocrisy, and racism. 

It is very literally impossible for anyone with a brain and a conscience to continue to support Trump as President.  Anyone who supports Trump either doesn’t have a brain or doesn’t have a conscience.

Trump’ words and deeds are indefensible, and the continued defense of Trump’s words and deeds by the Republican Party and Republicans in Congress is unacceptable and indefensible.

Trump has committed, consistently and unapologetically throughout his entire business and political life, every single “bad act” that Republicans have claimed, rightfully or wrongfully, were committed by a Democrat and that they have denounced in the past.

The Republican Party is literally saying to the American public that only Democrats can commit, be charged with, and be held accountable for illegal and unethical activity.  The same activity performed by an alleged Republican is neither illegal nor unethical and should not be punished.

The term “Republican” has officially become a synonym for the word “hypocrisy”.

The only possible reason to explain the Republican Party’s support and defense of Trump is that they are afraid of offending, and losing the votes of, Trump’s core cult of ignorant racists, who apparently make up about 30% of American voters.  The votes of these deplorables are more important to Republicans than protecting the Constitution and the future of America.

It is vitally important that, if he survives impeachment, Trump must be voted out of office in the 2020 election.  But that is not all.  Every single Republican in Congress running for re-election who does not publicly oppose, denounce and disavow Trump must also be voted out of office. 

In the past I have voted for Democrats, Republicans and third-party candidates, depending on the candidate and the issues.  I will never again vote for any Republican for any office unless he or she vocally opposes, denounces and disavows Trump and “Trumpism”.

If the Republican Party is to survive, rank and file Republicans with a conscience, and true conservatives, must encourage, support, contribute to, and vote for a candidate who challenges Trump in the Republican primaries, like Governor Bill Weld, and encourage, support, contribute to, and vote for anti-Trump challengers to the current hypocritical Republicans in Congress in the primaries.  And they must only support local and statewide candidates who publicly oppose, denounce and disavow Trump.

A final point – see how the Republican Party has changed in my lifetime.  The following is from the official Republican Party Platform of 1956 (the highlight is mine) -

“While jealously guarding the free institutions and preserving the principles upon which our Republic was founded and has flourished, the purpose of the Republican Party is to establish and maintain a peaceful world and build at home a dynamic prosperity in which every citizen fairly shares.

We shall ever build anew, that our children and their children, without distinction because of race, creed or color, may know the blessings of our free land.

We believe that basic to governmental integrity are unimpeachable ethical standards and irreproachable personal conduct by all people in government. We shall continue our insistence on honesty as an indispensable requirement of public service. We shall continue to root out corruption whenever and wherever it appears.

We are proud of and shall continue our far-reaching and sound advances in matters of basic human needs—expansion of Social Security—broadened coverage in unemployment insurance —improved housing—and better health protection for all our people. We are determined that our government remain warmly responsive to the urgent social and economic problems of our people.

To these beliefs we commit ourselves as we present this record and declare our goals for the future.”

REMEMBER OUR VETERANS!

THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS OBSOLETE!

Yes, America, the 2nd Amendment is obsolete.

The purpose or the 2nd Amendment, the reason it was written, was to protect the existing state and local militias because many of the founding fathers opposed a national standing army.

This purpose no longer exists. We no longer rely on volunteer local and state militias to protect our communities, states and the country and to fight wars, as was the case in the Revolutionary War and before. We now have local, county and state police forces, the National Guard and national Armed Forces.

Since the purpose for creating the 2nd Amendment no longer exists it is totally obsolete and has no relevance today.

Sara Huckabee Sanders, the former Trump Administration official liar whose job it was to lie to the American public and repeat and defend the lies of Trump, recently tweeted one the stupidest things ever, even from a “Trumpee”, which is, sadly, also erroneously believed true by some Americans and reinforced by the NRA –

“No, we have guns because it’s our God-given right enshrined in the Constitution.”

For one, I don’t recall it saying anywhere in the Bible that God has given man the right to own a gun.

And let me quote conservative Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger –

“The Gun Lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American People by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies – the militia – would be maintained for the defense of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or she desires.”

Before I leave the subject let me make one thing perfectly clear.  There is absolutely no legitimate reason for any American to own an assault weapon.  If the government acknowledges this and appropriately bans Americans from owning assault weapons, as it had in the past, saying people shouldn't be able to own assault weapons - why wouldn't you have a mandatory buy-back of currently owned assault weapons? It is only logical. 

The government would NOT take the rifle you use for hunting or target practice – but it should take your AR-15, your AK-47.  No American should be allowed to own assault weapons, regardless of when it was purchased.

TTYL