In his 1789 letter, Ben Franklin wrote: "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Likewise, every year, millions of Americans around the nation dread the 15th of April, which has been traditionally known as Tax Day. Yet, it is indisputable that taxes are a necessity for many basic government functions, such as law enforcement, educational funding, and criminal containment, to operate. While Americans will never escape the burden of tax, altercations to the current tax system can correct the issues that taxpayers fear. The current US federal income tax is a progressive tax model that utilizes eight tax brackets ranging from 10% for the lowest income earners to 39.6% for the highest income earners. However, recent
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Experts assert that by allowing consumers to retain a larger portion of their wealth, the increased amount of wealth will not only instill a sense of financial security, but also prompt consumers to invest more in the US economy. Theoretically, as the wealthy invest a larger amount of money into the economy, it will trickle down to the middle and lower income classes, counteracting the higher portion of money lower income classes pay in taxes. Ted Cruz’s Simple Flat tax plan projects that 4.9 million new jobs will be created in the next decade. However, under Obama and the current progressive tax system 2.9 million new jobs were created in just 2014. A prime example of the lackluster effects of flat tax to bolster the economy are several Eastern European states whom adopted a flat tax system in the late 1900’s or early 2000’s. After support for communism declined in the late 1900’s, several Eastern European states (Estonia in 1994, Slovakia in 2004, Czech Republic in 2008) adopted a flat tax. However, flat taxes failed to significantly help the economic situation of countries where they were adopted, and it is difficult to ascertain whether how impactful taxes are in influencing the direction of the economy. Yet, both Czech Republic and Slovakia failed to rebound economically and are currently burdened by economic trouble, prompting both countries to switch to
Experts assert that by allowing consumers to retain a larger portion of their wealth, the increased amount of wealth will not only instill a sense of financial security, but also prompt consumers to invest more in the US economy. Theoretically, as the wealthy invest a larger amount of money into the economy, it will trickle down to the middle and lower income classes, counteracting the higher portion of money lower income classes pay in taxes. Ted Cruz’s Simple Flat tax plan projects that 4.9 million new jobs will be created in the next decade. However, under Obama and the current progressive tax system 2.9 million new jobs were created in just 2014. A prime example of the lackluster effects of flat tax to bolster the economy are several Eastern European states whom adopted a flat tax system in the late 1900’s or early 2000’s. After support for communism declined in the late 1900’s, several Eastern European states (Estonia in 1994, Slovakia in 2004, Czech Republic in 2008) adopted a flat tax. However, flat taxes failed to significantly help the economic situation of countries where they were adopted, and it is difficult to ascertain whether how impactful taxes are in influencing the direction of the economy. Yet, both Czech Republic and Slovakia failed to rebound economically and are currently burdened by economic trouble, prompting both countries to switch to