If Trump really wanted a big tax cut, he would have a comprehensive plan to restrain the growth of government spending. He doesn’t. If Trump genuinely wanted lower taxes, he would be aggressively pushing for genuine entitlement reform. He isn’t.
For many of us, our futures, and especially our retirement funds, are wrapped up in the stock market. Unfortunately, the country's overly burdensome tax system prevents short-term investors from signaling to long-term investors how healthy the market is or isn't.
Donald Trump’s tax plan seems to mark a new chapter in his presidency, from floundering around with strange and sometimes scary policies (bombings, border closings, saber rattling) to focusing on what actually matters and what can actually make the difference for the American people and the American economy.
Trump wants to cut business tax to 15% and apply that rate to small businesses and freelancers. This is potentially game-changing since millions of high-earners could simply recategorize their earnings as business income. You could effectively cut the top rate from 39.6% to 15% in one go.
"Unfortunately, tales of Robin Hood have been passed down from generation to generation, yet very few have stopped to think about the what they mean."
Reasonable people can disagree about how our tax dollars are spent, or whether our earnings should be confiscated at all, but Tax Freedom Day helps to put Americans’ tax burden into perspective.
During the 1970s and 1980s, many other countries had rates in that range, or higher. However, over the past 15 years all other major countries have lowered their rates, leaving the United States with the highest in the world after the United Arab Emirates.
We all did our taxes painfully recently, and we're all still reeling from the numbers, thinking, "There has got to be a way to make this better." If you're single, there is: get married.
The Tax Revolution Institute isn't marching or writing letters. No, this year, they're protesting our 74,000-page theft code by... reading it. In front of the IRS building. For the whole world to see. All day. It's happening right now and you can watch it here.
We are quickly approaching the deadline for filing (and paying) our federal and state income taxes, and that means it’s time for an annual post to help put things in perspective. Let's start with some historical perspective: when income tax began in 1913, the maximum marginal income was only 7% on incomes above what would be more than $12 million in today's dollars.
