I know the Republicans put a lot of effort and expertise into the 2017 Tax Reform bill. However, I have zero experience and barely understand basic economic concepts. And yet, I’m pretty sure my tax plan is even better.
Here is the basic idea: everyone pays a progressive percentage based on their income level. But instead of the government allocating those tax dollars, the individual paying gets to decide. On everyone’s tax form will be a list of expenses: military, domestic policing, fire department, education, roads, social services, etc, next to which will be an empty box. You divide up your own taxes by percentage. Maybe you want 100% of your taxes to go towards military one year. Maybe you want it all to go towards women’s health services. Maybe you want to divide it equally among all categories. Whatever. You decide.
The system would have fairly good feedback, because as needs arise, you can allocate your tax dollars differently each year. So if your roads are getting rough and bumpy, you can put more of your money in that category the next tax year.
I’ve been thinking this idea over on and off for several years, for a total of upwards of 7 hours, give or take. So I think it is solid and implementable. Best of all, I think Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Independents will all get on board because everybody gets what they want.
The only detail I don’t have locked down yet is the name. What should this tax plan be called?
Cade_One
January 18, 2018 at 9:35 am
I too have thought about a similar concept. I don’t know what you mean by “progressive percentage based on income level though.” I would be more for a single percentage across the board. Those who make more would pay more. Those who make less would pay less. Taxes should not replace charity, so the lower the percentage the better!
I thought it would be cool to have an app that you could see the actual budget and where people want their individual taxes to go towards, locally and federally (There would have be a window during tax season where you could change where your money go’s if you want to change anything.) So those who don’t drive, could put their tax dollars somewhere other than roads. Then based on how much money is in the budge would determine the quality of roads in a particular area. Michigan could definitely benefit from this. As soon as you cross over to Michigan from Ohio, you instantly know, because only one lane is derivable. Michigan obviously has a budgeting problem. There should also be a “General Fund” category. This is where the elected get to decide which categories to allocate to. They would not be able to take or borrow from any other category. They do not have to spend the entire budget, but must stay within the budget.
I think we’re on to something here. Perhaps they should try it on a local scale to see how it works.
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beautifuldaymama
February 6, 2018 at 5:05 pm
Yes, implementation on a local level would be a good starting point.
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