We hear a lot of radio and TV talk show hosts stating that 50% of Americans pay "no taxes". Unless they specify "income taxes", they are mistaken. EVERYONE pays. Besides the stated taxes, such as "sales taxes", every item we buy, service or utilities we subscribe to and every house or apartment we own or rent contain stated or hidden taxes, including property taxes. Even those products which have been determined to be detrimental to our health are heavily taxed but not banned. All these taxes impact the poor and middle class more than the rich. Again, EVERYONE pays.
If all the things we spend money on were compelled to reveal what part of the cost is concealed taxes, we'd see how a convoluted taxing system can rob us blind without our knowing it. No one will deny our entire taxing philosophy must change to be more fair, understandable and transparent, but those who are able to do that won't do it. There are too many special interests, including the politicians themselves, benefiting from exemptions, special credits and other loopholes in the current system. Can you imagine how a simplified taxing system would affect all those professionals who prepare tax returns for others? Too many people benefit from the current system for a serious effort to change it to take place.
The entire tax code, and, in fact, all approved legislation, should be reviewed regularly to determine whether changing conditions have altered the original purpose of the law. Anyone who believes that every law is perfectly conceived and written the first time around, every time, and will serve a purpose into perpetuity, is not in tune with reality.
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