Let's Lower Taxes to Get National Health Care, Social Security and Free College!

The key to financing National Health Care, solvingincreases.
Social Security's long term funding problem, and goingThe small tax on gross sales also produces a very
to college free of charge is to lower taxes. Assmall corporate tax liability. In fact, the business tax
incredible as this sounds, it's true. This can becorporations will now be required to pay is so small
accomplished by eliminating tax deductions and athat employer payroll taxes can be expanded to
simple restructuring of the tax code.include National Health Care and still produce an overall
Eliminating tax deductions is the key to tax reform. Thistax liability lower than what corporations are currently
is because tax deductions are the main cause of taxrequired to pay. This overall lower tax liability will be the
fraud and the inequities associated with our current taxbasis for corporate acceptance of their expanded
system. It is the tax deduction that allows the tax codepayroll obligation.
to favor some segments of society over others,These same principles apply to individual taxes. When
decrease the amount of revenue the governmentdeductions are eliminated, the ability of individuals to
needs to properly fund the programs our societyreduce, delay or eliminate the taxes owed comes to
deems important, and leads directly to waste, fraudan end. This means that the scenario that now occurs,
and corruption.where wealthy individuals end up paying less in taxes
No serious attempt at tax reform can take placethan poorer individuals, is no longer possible. This
without addressing this problem. Therefore, abolishingtranslates into increased revenue for the government.
the tax deduction is the first and most importantThe elimination of personal tax deductions also heralds
reform that must take place. When combined with athe end of personal income taxes. The elimination of
simple restructuring of the tax code, these simpleincome taxes presents as a tax reduction and this tax
reforms create a tax system that treats everyonereduction allows for the expansion of payroll taxes to
equally. And, when everyone is treated equally threeinclude National Health Care and Public Education.
things happen: First, the current codes ability to favorThese new payroll taxes will be readily accepted
some segments of society over others is eliminated.because individuals will still be paying less in overall
Second, tax fraud will decrease. And third, governmenttaxes and yet will receive more in benefits. Most
revenue will increase.people will simply wonder why these reforms had not
For example, in order to increase tax revenue frombeen implemented earlier.
corporations we must first change the tax structureThe elimination of tax deductions and a simple
that allows businesses to reduce, delay or eliminate therestructuring of the tax code needs to be implemented
taxes owed. Currently, corporations subtract from theiras soon as possible. This is because government
gross sales those deductions found in the tax coderevenue raised under the current system is inadequate.
and labels the resulting number the net profit. ThisFor example, in fiscal 2007 the government collected
figure is then used as the basis for determining the$2.4 trillion dollar, however, it spent $2.8 trillion dollars.
taxes owed. The first $50,000.00 of net profit is taxedThis created a deficit of $400 billion dollars and this
at 15% and above $50,000.00 of net profit the tax$400 billion dollars was added to the national debt
increases up to 35%. This creates a very strong(which is rapidly approaching $10 trillion dollars). Contrast
incentive to add as many deductions to the tax codethese amounts with the revenue generated by the
as possible in order to reduce the net profit so that thereforms set forth in my proposal. Based on very
corresponding tax liability is lowered.conservative numbers, my tax reform plan will
The solution is to replace the tax on net profits with aincrease government revenue from $2.4 trillion dollars
small tax on the gross sales. By definition, the tax onto a staggering $3.31 trillion dollars. This means that
gross sales means that there are no deductions. Thisrather than running a budget deficit we will be running a
reform eliminates the ability of corporations to use thebudget surplus.
deductions found in the tax code to reduce, delay orThis budget surplus allows us to fund all current
eliminate the taxes owed, eliminates the corruptionprograms, create and fully fund National Health Care,
associated with the current tax code, and creates theresolve Social Security's long term funding problem and
level playing field that requires all corporations to payexpand public education to include college, free of
their fair share of taxes. And, when all corporationscharge. And, as incredible as all this sounds, it was
pay their fair share of taxes, government revenueaccomplished by lowering taxes!