[Krsqk]

I am a firm believer that your tax rate should be based upon a percentage of your income. The more you make the more you pay. The less you make the less you pay. Right now the lower income people, me, pay 90% of the nations tax while rick SOB's like Bill Gates and such pay less in tax than a coctail waitress. (Predeiums, right offs, expenses, etc)

There's the simple way to do this (although our unemployment figures would skyrocket because the IRS and the accounting industries would dissolve overnight): the 1040-Postcard form. Fill in gross income, multiply by .125 (or some other suitable figure), there's the tax bill. Subtract what you've already paid; there's the tax owed (or the refund). No deductions, no shelters, no anything.

Just curious, AT, where did you get your figures from (the $25k/30%, $250k/2.5%)?

Not being a large corporation owner, I'll pass on the other bit, but I can say that from talking to my friends, the tax code is stacked against married dual income middle-class families.

The tax code is stacked against corporations. Any corporation not filed under subchapter S (small businesses) pays taxes on the total corporate profits. The profits then go to the owner, who pays taxes again on the same money--double taxation.

The tax code is also stacked against married couples--specifically, dual-income/no kids families (DINK). My wife and I individually are in a reasonably low tax bracket, but when our incomes are combined, the tax rate jumps drastically. We have "underpaid" by more than $1,000 each year since we've been married, just because the combined income is at a higher percentage. Sure, if we had six kids and paid $5,000 in primary mortgage interest each year and hit the maximum allowance in medical expenses and Schedule A itemization was actually a worthwhile use of my time, we might get some money back; but then I'm just spending $15-20k more a year and saving $1,500 in taxes. Sounds like a great system to me.

Here's a really radical idea - abolish the income tax and go to a national sales tax. After all, the Founding Fathers left out a national income tax from the Constitution (it got added in later, of course, look up the 16th amendment) - and my guess is they did that on purpose.

Originally, it seems states were taxed based on their population, and the states made it up from their people. Of course, that was when the states actually had representation in the Federal government (states elected senators). That would typically prevent things like arbitrarily declaring residence in, say, New York because most the voting bloc aligns with your political viewpoint and you don't know what you'd do if you didn't have some political office from which to prepare to run for Presidentess *koff koff* um President.