Church Settles with SEC


Just_A_Guy
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41 minutes ago, Ironhold said:

There's a push to replace the federal income tax with a federal sales tax, in the logic that it's much simpler and also harder to dodge. 

The problem is that this would mean the bottom half of Americans, who pay little to no income tax, would find themselves being taxed, sometimes heavily. 

It'll never happen of course, but it's not a bad idea.  A 'consumption tax' on things end users buy, with exemptions for food/medicine/utilities/etc, has a lot going for it.  But yeah, there's no way politicians will sign off on getting rid of income tax, because they'd lose their ability to look like they're working by changing it, and a million unemployed tax people wouldn't win them any votes.  

The more likely thing, is a future federal govt where republicans can't stop 'em, adding a consumption tax and also keeping the income tax.

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On 2/24/2023 at 6:52 PM, NeuroTypical said:

I once did a season at a tax office.  Looking for a possible retirement gig - I know a few people who travel around in their RV, stop in some random state and work a season, then move on.   Some things I learned:

- The tax code should never be confused for some sort of moral, just, or right thing.  It's a schizophrenic and flawed battle ground for politicians, strewn with discarded hulks of partially hollowed-out reforms, changes, and additions from a century of tinkering for the purpose of winning elections.  Much of it makes absolutely no sense, and flat out contradicts other areas.  It's an indecipherable mishmash of corporate welfare, individual/family welfare, assaults on corporations, and assaults on individuals and families.

- Whatever tinkering congress did the year before (or during the tax season) often makes conflicting and contradictory laws with no clear answer on how to pay correct taxes.  The code is so complex, so in conflict with itself, that the IRS routinely sues itself, in order to answer questions on taxation.  

- Tax law, tax lawyers, tax cases, and tax rulings should also never be confused for some sort of moral, just, or right thing.  It's a necessary thing so the nation's tax preparers can get some sort of actual answer on what the crap to do with various entities tax situations.

- I was doing taxes the year Obamacare "got teeth", and the mandate that forced people to have insurance or pay a fine was in play.  I applied penalties two or three times - every time it was to some poor schmoe or lower class family that fell into a 'magic area' of not poor enough to pay zero taxes, but not well-enough employed to have employer-provided healthcare.   One guy and I spent about 45 minutes going over the massive list of exceptions to see how much I could reduce his obamacare penalty.  I managed to get him credit for two months he was behind bars.  

No really - if Biden was arrested tomorrow for tax fraud, I'd say "hold up now, did he actually do anything wrong though?"

After going over my own income taxes last night, I certainly feel this way.  I consider myself a relatively intelligent person, but those tax instructions and worksheets are full of gibberish only insiders can fully understand.  I understood enough to know I'm cutting a check in April and revising my withholdings on my W-4 today.  We really need a much simpler tax system.  I love the simplicity of tithing.  Just do a flat tax, and tax credit based on income for poorer people.  This isn't rocket science, but how else would the Government get to incentivize my life decisions and bribe the public with the public's money.

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