VoteMatch
Higher taxes on the wealthy
POSITIONS
- Strongly Support means you believe: A progressive income tax is one of the cornerstones of modern society. Its premise is that the wealthy contribute proportionally more than those with lower incomes. That is the right way to run our tax system, and we should keep it that way.
- Support means you believe: Flatter taxes benefit the wealthy more than the lower and middle class. We should focus tax relief on the majority of taxpayers instead of on the richest few percent, while preserving important deductions like mortgage interest and charitable donations.
- Oppose means you believe: A Flat Tax would simplify the entire tax system. It would get rid of loopholes that drive tax-avoiding behaviors. And it would remove most deductions and the special interests that come with them. In the meantime, tax cuts benefit the economy in both good economic times and bad economic times.
- Strongly Oppose means you believe: Ideally, the income tax and the IRS should be abolished. Perhaps a national sales tax, like the FairTax, is a good replacement. Lower and flatter taxes are a good first step.
This question is looking for your views on reducing the power and size of the IRS.
However you answer the above question would be similar to your response to these statements:
- The wealthy should pay a greater share of taxes
- Repeal the Bush tax cuts
- Close tax loopholes that only the wealthy gain from
However you answer the above question would be OPPOSITE to your response to these statements:
- A National Sales Tax is better than an income tax
- Support tax simplification
- Repeal the 16th Amendment
How do you decide between "Support" and "Strongly Support" when you agree with both the descriptions above? (Or between "Oppose" and "Strongly Oppose").
The strong positions are generally based on matters of PRINCIPLES where the regular support and oppose positions are based on PRACTICAL matters.
If you answer "No Opinion," this question is not counted in the VoteMatch answers for any candidate.
If you give a general answer of Support vs. Oppose, VoteMatch can more accurately match a candidate with your stand.
Don't worry so much about getting the strength of your answer exactly refined, or to think too hard about the exact wording of the question -- like candidates!
- Strongly Support means you believe in the principle of progressive taxation, i.e., that redistribution of wealth is a proper role of government.
- Support means you believe in the practical societal necessity of a progressive tax system.
- Oppose means you believe in the practical benefits of a simplified flat tax system.
- Strongly Oppose means you believe in the principle of Trickle-Down Economics or against the principle of taxation.
BACKGROUND
Tax Rates
‘Marginal Tax Rates’ means the amount you pay on each taxable dollar earned above the deductible base.
(Decreasing the marginal rates would decrease the amount everyone pays, but in general would favor those who pay more tax).
The current marginal tax rates are 15% on the first $42,350 of taxable income, 28% on the next $60,000, and 31%, 36%, & 39.6% above that.
(Those are the ‘Married Filing Jointly’ rates. The same marginal rates apply to singles, but at different breakpoints).
The ‘Marriage Penalty’ means that two people filing taxes together pay more than if they filed as two singles separately. This situation has existed in the tax code since 1969, when the tax code was reformed to account for women entering the workplace. The bill referenced above became law in June 2001 as the “Marriage Penalty and Family Tax Relief Act.” It changed tax deductions and child credits to remove that aspect of the ‘Marriage Penalty,’ but did not address the core distinction that a couple filing jointly still pay more than the same couple filing separately.
The most common deduction is the mortgage interest deduction (applicable to everyone who owns a house; it makes buying a home more affordable by subsidizing 15% of the mortgage).
The charitable deduction is the basis for discussions of ‘Faith-based organizations’ replacing government agencies (see Welfare section)
TThe 'Estate Tax' or 'Inheritance Tax' is called the 'Death Tax' by its opponents, beginning in 2001 under President Bush. While polls indicate broad support for eliminating the estate tax, few Americans are directly affected by it. Opponents point out that some family businesses would have to sold to pay the estate tax. In 2001, 98% of descendants avoid taxes altogether because the first $675,000 of an estate was exempt from taxation. That exemption rose to $5 million in 2011-2012, with a one-year repeal in 2010, and is slated to return to $1 million in 2013. According to the Internal Revenue Service, about 3,000 estates are worth more than $5 million each and hence would be subject to the tax in 2011-2012.
The ‘Capital Gains Tax’ is a separate income tax (with a marginal rate of 20%) which applies when goods that have gone up in value are sold. Lowering the capital gains rate is considered a benefit to wealthier taxpayers.
Flat Tax & Sales Tax
A ‘Flat Tax’ or ‘FairTax’ would replace the current progressive marginal rates with a single ‘flat’ rate (plans vary from 10% to 17%), applied after a deductible base.
Flat Tax plans can achieve lower rates by removing the mortgage interest and charitable deductions.
A ‘National Sales Tax’ would replace the income tax with a consumption tax paid when purchasing anything. Many European countries implement a form of sales tax called ‘VAT’, or Value-Added Tax.
Amendment XVI to the US Constitution
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. (1913)