who should pay taxes?

[mommax3]

I think something is wrong with this.....what do you guys think?

http://http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/...axes/index.htm

[SuzySunshine]

I can see those that make less then $30K, I mean thats basically poverty level. But 9% of $75K-100K? What? What could they possibly be doing that would exempt them from all federal taxes?

With that said I think everyone should pay something even if its miniscule at the lowest income levels.

[ladymoreta]

The link had an extra http in it. If you can't get the original to work, try this one: 47% will pay no federal income tax. It should go to the same story.

I agree with Cheri that everyone should pay taxes. To me, it's a responsibility that comes from being a citizen of this country, just like voting - if you don't pay taxes, I don't think you should get any say in how the government is run. I agree that if a person or family is below poverty level, it should be a very small amount, but any amount would give them a right (in my opinion) to the benefits of being a citizen.

Also, we can't keep increasing government services and reducing the resource pool. That is a ridiculous way to run a country in the long term. Sure, it will get politicians reelected for their next term, but it will eventually cause the deficit to become unmanageable. That would be a worse economic tragedy than anything we imagined might happen during the panic last fall. Global economic meltdown is not something we can buy our way out of - and the sad thing is that it can be prevented by our elected officials putting their necks on the line to do what's best for our country, and they probably won't even consider it.

[DCJenn]

I think everyone should contribute. That said, I don't think people who fall below a certain threshold (and not the actual poverty line which is artificially low) should have to pay in cash.

If you can't afford to pay taxes, you should be allowed to contribute in other ways. There's plenty of stuff that needs to be done. OK- you can't tax, well then you can select one of these fabulous opportunities to volunteer your services- clean up the local waterway, prepare X number of meals at a soup kitchen, etc.

Not everyone can PAY but everyone, or nearly everyone can contribute something.

Jenn

[ladymoreta]

That's an excellent idea DCJenn!

[GrayMatterWife]

If you can't afford to pay taxes, you should be allowed to contribute in other ways. There's plenty of stuff that needs to be done.

What an interesting idea! I wonder how that could be implemented to hold people accountable.

[BonBon]

If you can't afford to pay taxes, you should be allowed to contribute in other ways. There's plenty of stuff that needs to be done. OK- you can't tax, well then you can select one of these fabulous opportunities to volunteer your services- clean up the local waterway, prepare X number of meals at a soup kitchen, etc.

Not everyone can PAY but everyone, or nearly everyone can contribute something.

Jenn

LOVE this idea.

[Rapunzel]

It means that we would have to quantify volunteer work. How much is working in a soup kitchen worth and that kind of thing. Would those who make more $$$ be able to take tax breaks by doing some of this volunteer work that has been given a monetary worth?

Intriguing idea.

[Bittersweet]

Great idea, Jenn!

In fact, several counties in Colorado have property tax work-off programs for seniors and the disabled. Apparently the programs have been quite popular and I wish they would be extended to other individuals.

That is an interesting idea.

As I understand it...volunteering time is not deductible but the mileage associated with getting to a volunteer commitment is. I can't deduct the market value of my book keeping services nor DH the time he spends at a clinic for the uninsured. That could be changed for people under a certain income level. The organizations benefiting would issue a receipt that validates the hours similar to what they produce for monetary contributions.

[DCJenn]

Or consider it equal to minimum wage if it needs to have a figure attached to it- one hour of service = one hour @ minimum wage.

Jenn

[Rapunzel]

To apply it fairly then we would allow anyone (regardless of income) the opportunity to do community service in lieu of certain taxes.

I think it sounds like a promising idea if it is applied fairly. It would definitely promote more community service among both the have nots AND the haves.

[DCJenn]

Well, by default you could only 'earn' hours for the total number of hours there are in a year.

Jenn

[SoonerTexan]

I originally thought this thread was a debate about which spouse should be paying the taxes...

[Sheherezade]

I've often thought this would be a good way for a SAHP to contribute to the family "income". If you could do volunteer service part-time as many parents do and defray the tax costs of a top bracket earner, wouldn't that be great? Great for the couple, the individual spouse would get something tangible for his/her work history while having time to care for children and the government would get a system of "free" workers.

I'd always imagined that there would have to be particular services that were approved and accredited to provide volunteer hours.

Obviously, this would be great as a way for the poor to contibute as well, but I'm wondering if it would be enforceable. It would be much harder to make happen than cash payment. You'd need volunteers that were willing. A surly bad -attitude volunteer would not be appreciated by any service and would take more work to manage than they'd contribute.