Pay your tax! Who? Me?

A well-worn comment is, "Nothing is certain except death and taxes." Would this be true if we lived in paradise? It might be appealing to live where there were no taxes to pay. Unfortunately, we do not live in paradise.

In an earlier column, I tried to show the necessity of paying taxes -- what it would be like if we paid no tax but had to pay for services as we need them.

One example convinces me this would not work. Think about how difficult it would be if each of us had to provide our own road.

Today, my suggestion is that paying taxes is a privilege, not a duty. Jerry Wadel has suggested that we consider a Fairtax proposal presented for legislators to consider.

My first reaction is: How could anyone arrive at a tax rate that is fair? In a future column, our next one, I hope, we will be looking at why certain words are used to describe a program or proposal.

How could there be a tax that is fair to the person who works for the minimum wage and to the person receives $1 million in income?

As proposed, the Fairtax is a sales tax of 23 percent on material that is used by the person who buys it for his own use. There would be no tax paid on materials used in manufacturing something, which would be sold.

The IRS would be eliminated; the income tax, employment, estate and gift taxes would be repealed. It sounds attractive, but living in Missouri, a question could be asked. How would the present taxes be replaced? I fear the problem is in the details. As presented, no tax would be due until a poverty level income is reached. A table provided shows a two adult/two children family could earn $31,020 before paying any tax. (A disclaimer, understanding the details would have to be checked by someone who has studied the details.)

Income of $46,530 would be paying at a 7.70 percent tax rate with a total tax payment of $3,544.30. An income of $62,040 would pay 11.5 percent or $7,134.60. Income of $1,985,280 would reach the 22.6 percent level and pay a total tax of $449,479.80.

Retailers would receive a fee for collecting tax as would state sales tax authorities.

As the law is written, it makes no deduction in sales tax rate, for states must have these taxes to pay their expenses. Nothing is said about gasoline or transportation tax. An observation was made on local TV recently, "It would be all right for more sales tax, for property taxes would be such a burden on property owners."

Doesn't this reflect the NIMBY syndrome about anything disliked? If you are not familiar with this acronym, it means "Not In My Back Yard." Isn't this the way many feel about taxes? The only fair tax is the one someone else has to pay.

Sales taxes are the most regressive form of taxation for they take purchasing power away from those least able to pay. The history of our society seems to be "those least able to pay should pay more than their share." "Sin taxes," those charged on beer, liquor, cigarettes, etc., are the most easily legislated.

Another principle in operation the past 30 years is cut taxes on the highest income levels, reduce programs for the most needy, and the benefit will "trickle down" from the wealthy to those most needy.

To those who "take their bath at the end of their workday" (a phrase borrowed from news media), how is this working for you?

In the period of time since that philosophy began to be promoted, the wealth of the highest income earners has increased drastically, the pay of corporate executives has gone from less than 250 times the pay of the average employee of their company to as much as 500 times.

In some cases, extreme bonus payments have been given to top executives when their company or stockholders lost billions of dollars. A common complaint heard from many who support this is "it is not fair to redistribute the wealth of these hardworking individuals to those who haven't earned it."

In reality, as our system is operating, wealth is being redistributed from the hourly wage worker, those who pay inflated prices for shoddy materials, to those at the top of the income brackets.

Too many politicians curry favor with the wealthy and write laws for tax shelters and benefits to them. Those at the top level of income do not have to spend all but can "store away" and do not add to our economy. Low income means spending all you earn to exist, leaving little for education, savings, or investment.

It is worth noting: "The richest 400 citizens of the United States have more wealth than the poorest 150 million together. The wealthiest 1 percent own more than 35 percent of the nation's private assets. Some 95 percent of the economic gains since the start of the recovery in 2009 have gone to the top 1 percent." (From CommonDreams.org)

More can be said about such concerns in future columns, but one question needs an answer: For whom will laws be written and who will be doing the writing?

Available evidence shows that ordinary citizens are not receiving the attention they deserve and were promised in our Constitution. Some of the wealthy seek to reduce their tax without regard for what is fair. In the shadows of our society, they work, in many ways, to achieve their selfish goals. Keep an eye on those who write laws affecting all of us.