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Government Isn't a Charity
Feb. 4th, 2019 07:02 pmAfter reviewing our tax return with Lisa, I went ahead and e-filed it. Nevada doesn't have a personal income tax, so there was only the one return to file in TurboTax.
One thing that struck me was that it just didn't seem like I was paying enough income tax. My effective tax rate went from about 9.5% to about 7.2% for what was approximately the same income. That's the Trump Tax Cut, of course, but it doesn't feel right.
Now before anyone says, "If that's how you feel, make a donation for the rest, you dumb liberal!" I have a a response, and it's the title of this post: Government Isn't a Charity. I would not be adverse to a somewhat higher tax rate, as long it applies uniformly. (That doesn't mean a Flat Tax; progressive taxation is sound policy. It means the same rules apply to everyone.) Relying on voluntary contributions to fund the government has never worked. That's actually how the First American Republic was supposed to be financed: contributions from the states. One of the reasons that we had to form the Second American Republic (the one we're under now) was that this method didn't work and the central government was effectively bankrupt.
But, given the nature of the Republicans controlling tax policy right now, I guess I should just be grateful that I didn't have a big tax penalty to pay for the massive bonus going to a handful of already hyper-wealthy people.
One thing that struck me was that it just didn't seem like I was paying enough income tax. My effective tax rate went from about 9.5% to about 7.2% for what was approximately the same income. That's the Trump Tax Cut, of course, but it doesn't feel right.
Now before anyone says, "If that's how you feel, make a donation for the rest, you dumb liberal!" I have a a response, and it's the title of this post: Government Isn't a Charity. I would not be adverse to a somewhat higher tax rate, as long it applies uniformly. (That doesn't mean a Flat Tax; progressive taxation is sound policy. It means the same rules apply to everyone.) Relying on voluntary contributions to fund the government has never worked. That's actually how the First American Republic was supposed to be financed: contributions from the states. One of the reasons that we had to form the Second American Republic (the one we're under now) was that this method didn't work and the central government was effectively bankrupt.
But, given the nature of the Republicans controlling tax policy right now, I guess I should just be grateful that I didn't have a big tax penalty to pay for the massive bonus going to a handful of already hyper-wealthy people.
