High Taxes
Here are some proposals dealing with the issue of high taxes. Naturally, defining a problem as ‘high taxes’ is subjective and depends largely on what you think the tax demands should look like across the different segments of society. The point of view advocated in these proposals is for a more progressive tax code: the higher the income of any entity, the higher its rate of taxation.
Nevertheless, even if you believe in the justice of a proportional tax, there are several ways listed here in which the effective tax load for every law-abiding citizen (on average) could be decreased. Generally, such ways could be divided into two categories: 1) imposing fines on people who do wrong things and 2) simplifying the tax code. It’s important to remember that it’s often not so much the tax, but the other costs involved in figuring out what the tax is (time needed to figure out the tax code rules; money needed to hire someone else to do this for you), that is the larger problem. Also remember that in the end the government will collect all the money it has set out to collect. Would you prefer it do so in a simple way or in a more complicated way, requiring a rules book to guide the masses through all the regulations?
1. Monetary Policy
Having the Treasury issue debt-free currency would enable us to reduce our entire national debt well within 2 years and permanently eliminate 90% of the inflation that is associated with issuing debt-based money. Sounds unbelievable? Great! Please study the issue and comment to prove me wrong.
2. Progressive Taxation
A progressive tax code would result in a much less painful tax system.
3. Tax Only Active Economic Activity
All buying activities should be taxed, no exceptions.
4. Income Tax
This income tax schedule would result in greater revenues, but with only the very rich paying significantly more.
5. Ban Tax Deductions, Credits, Exemptions, Pre-Tax Money & Other Tax Tricks
Eliminating these would make the tax code so simple that hardly anyone would need to purchase the services of specialized tax preparers. The government would also need fewer tax reviewers, saving itself some money.
6. Tax Trade Across Political Boundaries
Not only would this encourage local production, which would indirectly benefit the local governments, but it would generate significant direct revenues for each level of government.
7. Sales Tax Charged for Both Buyer’s and Seller’s Jurisdiction for All Transactions
This would encourage local consumption as well as provide more revenues to the seller’s political jurisdiction.
8. Junk Food Tax
Encourage healthier eating while surely raising very significant revenues.
9. Tuition for Public School Attendance
Parents of children going to public schools need to pay at least part of the costs involved.
10. Basic School Supplies Provided by Parents
This way parents and children have a vested interest in use such supplies wisely.
11. Distinct Nested Entities Treated as One Entity for Tax Purposes
This would result in generally higher tax rates for progressively larger nested entities.
12. Criminals Paying for Their Crimes
Requiring criminals to pay for the entire cost of their crimes, prevents victims or taxpayers from footing the bill.
13. Retirement Age & Social Security Entitlements
Not pegging retirement age to life expectancy has created fundamental Social Security funding problems. We need to substitute Social Security with our own saving plans, funded by our own money, thus saving the administrative costs associated with operating the Social Security program. The end result: lower taxation, and every dollar set aside for your own retirement will actually be more than what Social Security would have given you (if you consider the entire life cycle of the program, not just the first few decades of surplus).
14. Legalizing Drugs and Drug Plants
Legalizing low-level drugs would result in substantial saving (namely prison), without significant negative social effects, on balance. Remember, inmates often come out of prison more prone to violence.
15. Lottery and Gambling Tax
Discourage gambling as well as generate revenues for all levels of government.
16. Public Policing of Published Materials
This would be a significant revenue source for the government due to the fines it would generate.
17. Profit Tax
This is an additional tax placed only on business profits beyond a certain threshold.
18. Foreign Sales Revenue Tax
All revenues generated locally by foreign companies should be taxed as though they were generated by a local company.
19. Pollution Tax
This tax would not only reduce pollution from all sources at whatever levels emitted, but it would also raise large amounts of revenue for governments.
20. Natural Environmental Harvest Tax
Raise revenues while reducing the amount of damage and disturbance to the natural environment.
21. Market Share Tax
This tax would discourage market providers from gaining too large a market share, and would result in significant tax revenues.
22. Electromagnetic Frequency Tax
The use of the electromagnetic spectrum should be rented and taxed.
23. Littering Penalties & Collection Strategies
So much money could be raised by just enforcing littering laws that all of our taxes could be reduced significantly.
24. E-mail Time Tags and Charge
This would be a very significant source of revenue for government.
25. Criteria for Government Subsidies
Too many subsidies are being provided. We need to redefine and limit the uses for which subsidies are justified.
26. Voluntary Sterilization of Drug Addicts, Criminals and Other Undesirable People
Taxpayer money on homeless, mental health and other medical expenses could be saved if such people needing treatment didn’t exist in the first place.
27. Widespread Use of Video Cameras
The more unbiased objective information entering a trail, the speedier a trial will tend to be and the lower the chances of a retrial. This will not only reduce taxes and many other costs, but also time spent figuring out exactly what happened in traffic accidents, crimes, etc.
28. Environmental Damage Penalty
Again, taxpayers shouldn’t be required to pay to clean up someone else’s mess.
29. Emergency Fund Maintenance Formula for Political Jurisdictions
It is always cheaper to prepare for disasters beforehand.
30. Price Including Tax
Making the tax more invisible will help people forget that fact that they are paying them.
31. Greater Penalties for Crimes Committed During Emergencies
These revenues would both help dissuade people from losing control of themselves during emergencies as well as result in increased revenues to governments.
32. Election Systems (Single-Winner & Multi-Winner)
More accurate representation means that the tax level would be more in line with what people want.
33. Residential Street Parking Fee
Discourage automobile ownership and especially parking them on the street with leaking oil and taking up space that cold be used by traffic (useful on especially narrow streets).
34. US Territories and Possessions: Representation and Taxation
Federal taxes should be collected on all territories and possessions.
35. Business Relationship to the Environment
If business internalize their negative externalities, governments wouldn’t need to foot the bill.
36. Raise the Price of a Resource to Conserve It
One way to slow the consumption of valuable resources locate within the US (for example, fossil fuels, uranium, molybdenum, etc.) would be for governments to impose a special tax on its production or consumption. This revenue could be added to government’s general funds.
37. Arbitration Requirement
Requiring arbitration (which includes education about potential jury costs) would result in less jury trails.
38. Losers Pay Winners’ Legal Costs & Common Court Costs
Court overhead operating costs would be picked up by losing side.
39. Informants
The more information entering a trial, the lower the chances of a retrial.
40. Jury Reform
Smarter juries mean that trials could be sped up, as well as reducing the chances of requiring retrials.
41. Self-Paced Flexible Packaged Courses
This more autonomous learning method allows for the provision of only the targeted intervention needed when a student has questions or runs into problems. Teachers would no longer need to stand around teaching what everyone already know, neither would they suffer the inefficiencies associated with teaching over the heads of slower students and below the level of bored advanced students.
42. More Efficient Use of Public School Facilities
So much infrastructure is laying dormant for a significant portion of the day and year. Better usage could surely be obtained, reducing the need for constructing other infrastructures.
The profits generated would substitute for tax dollars.
44. Pedestrians Crossing On the Red
Lots of money could be generated by fining people who cross street when they are not supposed to, causing frustration among drivers who must alter their driving to accommodate them.
45. Illegal Use of Shopping Carts
Fining the illegal use of shopping carts could displace significant amounts of tax revenues while cleaning up the streets.
46. Illegal Immigration Fines
Taxpayers should not have to fund any illegal immigrant expenses.
47. School Lunch Subsidies
Reduced cost lunches results in a reduced value being placed on food, thus more food waste.
Schools should make money off of students who litter, for example. Penalizing bad behavior teaches good behavior. In the process, the educators of the good behavior should be compensated.
50. Government Financial Aid Prerequisites
Chances are at least some people would choose to forgo government financial aid it they had to give up some of the luxuries they could afford because of it.
51. Educational Financial Grants should only Cover Tuition, Books and Other Direct Costs
Giving money for estimated rent and food expenses should be provided as loans.
52. Industry Funds & Administers Their Own Infrastructures
Since only users would pay for such infrastructure (savings #1), the incentive for constructing only what is needed would be stronger (savings #2).
53. Export Taxes
These taxes would provide some revenue.
54. Bycatch Penalties
This tax would encourage less wasteful fishing methods as well as generating some revenues for governments.
55. Adopt the Metric System
While not specifically saving taxpayers money, everyone would save considerable amounts of frustration, time and money if only one measurement standard was used worldwide, especially a more logical one like the Metric system. The English system of measurement requires way too much mental overhead in light of the Metric system.
56. Government Spending & Financing
Having better budgetary controls and accountability will always reduce costs, thus lowering the required taxes.
57. Jobs for the Needy
People should work for pay. There is no shortage of litter to be picked up and weeding that needs to be done everywhere. The government should provide such jobs to people and pay them low wages or on a per-unit of work accomplished. Taxpayer money could be saved by not offering this work to more expensive city employees.
58. Non-Emergency 911 Calls
Fining the improper use of the 911 system would yield significant amounts of revenue.
59. Mandatory Storage of Emergency Supplies
Requiring people to stock up emergency supplies means that the government would face lower costs during emergencies due to the reduced volume of aid that is needed.
60. Specialty Parks
Governments could operate several kinds of specialty parks and earn revenue through admission or use charges.
61. Aesthetic Penalty Tax
Unsightly properties should be fined and the revenues should go into government general funds to offset taxpayer tax liabilities.
62. Arrests/Searches Based on Credit System
Facilitating faster and more efficient information gathering methods
63. Late School Start Date Penalty
Parents should pay for the additional burden schools are placed under when a new child enrolls midyear.
64. School Community Stores
Another way for shools to earn some money.
65. Student Gardens
Students could sell things grown as a fund raiser.
66. Tax Grammatically Incorrect Business Names or Other Commercial Uses
Encourage proper spelling and grammar as well as generating some revenue.
67. Memorial Day/Veteran’s Day/Election Day Holiday
Consolidating these holidays would result in greater revenues due to a larger number of workdays in the year.