Essay On The Slavery Of Income Tax

The Slavery of the Income Tax Have you ever wondered if there was a better system of taxation than the one we currently have in the United States? The current United States tax code is not fair, it is difficult to understand, and places a chokehold over the economy. Is there a better system of taxation that could be implemented? The United States should implement a consumption tax to encourage growth in the economy, properly place incentives, encourage compliance, remove heavy tax burdens, simplify the tax code, and create a more equitable system of taxation. What is a consumption tax? Simply put, a consumption tax is a tax on what a person consumes or spends rather than what they earn in income
Many opponents of the consumption tax have long thought that the implementation of a consumption tax would allow businesses and individuals to evade paying their total tax liability (Francis,1). Under the current income tax system there are so many rules to comply with that many tax professionals misestimate total tax liability. In the 1996 a study was done by Money Magazine that asked 45 different tax professionals to calculate a single family’s tax liability that had self-employment and retirement income. The 45 different tax professionals estimated 45 different tax liabilities that ranged from 36,000 to 96,000 (Laffer,9-10). So if the actual tax liability of the family was for example, 45,000 then any estimate that is below that amount would not be complying with the tax code. If the complexity of the income tax system already causes problems with tax compliance, then simplifying the tax code with a consumption tax should increase tax compliance. When everyone understands the rules, they are much easier to abide