Citizen Power, by Mike Gravel: on Tax Reform

Less regressive tax on poor; more capital gains on rich

The inequities of today's tax system rob the lower & middle income citizens, while favoring the rich & supporting huge corporations, whose owners are taxed at only a fraction of what they should pay. People with annual earnings below $2,000 pay about 40% of their income in taxes of all kinds. People earning below $50,000 pay about 30%. Only for persons earning over $50,000 does the effective tax rate begin to rise, but even then only to 45%. We find the burden of taxes falling just as heavily on the poor as on the well-to-do, partly because everybody has to pay state, local & federal taxes that tend to be highly regressive--sales, gasoline, personal property, real estate, & social security taxes--and partly because of the loopholes built into the present federal income tax system.

The largest loophole is the break given the rich who have capital gains income. Today such income is taxed at a much lower rate than earned income. Capital gains should be treated as ordinary income & taxed accordingly.

Source: Citizen Power, by Sen. Mike Gravel, p.131 Jan 1, 1972

The above quotations are from Citizen Power A People's Platform, by Mike Gravel (published 1972). Click here for definitions & background information on Tax Reform. Click here for more quotes by Mike Gravel on Tax Reform.
*2008 Presidential contenders on Tax Reform:*
*Republicans:* Chmn.John Cox Mayor Rudy Giuliani Gov.Mike Huckabee Rep.Duncan Hunter Sen.John McCain Rep.Ron Paul Gov.Mitt Romney Sen.Fred Thompson	*Democrats:* Sen.Hillary Clinton Sen.John Edwards Sen.Mike Gravel Rep.Dennis Kucinich Sen.Barack Obama	*Third Parties:* Green: Rep.Cynthia McKinney Socialist: Brian Moore Independent: Mayor Mike Bloomberg
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