Taxation is an integral part of the monetary system. The monetary system provides a structure for the economy.
The tax reform debate should include a discussion about the way we want our economy and society to appear.
I believe that the best way to understand the effect of taxation on society is to look at the flow of money in the economy.
In both the current tax system and the FAIR Tax, tax dollars flow from companies to the government. In both systems, the Federal Government returns some of tax collected to individuals to make the system appear fair.
Pundits tell us that if we want to know how a system works, FOLLOW THE MONEY!
Although we call our system an "income tax," the bulk of funds collected flow from corporations to the government. Because the money flows from corporations to the government, our economy and government tends to align with the desires of corporations.
I believe that we could improve things by changing the flow of money so that our tax dollars flow directly for individuals.
I want to replace the current withholding system with direct taxation.
The downside of direct taxation is that direct taxation opens an opportunity for the government to use the tax code to manipulate individual behavior.
To reduce the potential for abuse, I want to create an independent entity that sits between the taxpayer and government.
The Object Tax is named after Object Oriented Programming. The design principle of OOPS was used to create the Internet, Smartphones, Apple computers and other wonders of the information age.
The Object Tax says that we will use the technology used to create the Internet to reform our tax code.
The reform starts by creating an open source program to design and implement an alternative to the current tax withholding system.
The computer program would be run by independent Application Service Providers (I will come back to the of the ASPs).
Open source programming tends to attract independently minded individuals. Open Source Programmers tend to be highly skeptical of "corporatism."
The Object Tax is essentially opening up the tax code and letting the most independently minded people in our nation have a crack at the code.
If implemented; the process of creating the Object Tax would be a wonder in and of itself. The people who write this program will be highly critical of any favoritism given by the government to politically connected individuals and businesses.
The goal of the Open Source Project is to create a computer program called "A Tax Aware Account."
A Tax Aware Account works as follows: Workers will receive their paychecks into a tax aware account. The account holds all the information necessary to calculate the individual's taxes. The worker will pay the tax on withdrawing the money.
So, lets imagine that a worker receives a thousand dollar check. The account includes all the information to calculate a tax rate. For arguments sake, imagine the rate is 20%. When the worker withdraws funds, the account would pay a $200 tax and give the worker $800.
The code for the Tax Aware Accounts is based on the current income tax. The big change is that individuals and employers will have the option of continuing with the current system or adopting the new system.
The big change is that tax dollars now flow directly from individuals to the government rather than as withholdings from employers.
Economists might note that this reform changes our tax code from a tax on production to a tax on consumption. Ahem, <b>The Object Tax transform our tax code from a production tax to a consumption tax without the disruption of the FAIRTAX!</b>
I believe that the big change will have a huge positive impact on our economy and society at large.
By changing the flow of money so that it goes through individual accounts to the government, the economy is likely to come into greater alignment to individuals needs.
Don't you see? The way money flows through our economy affects our lives. When the money in our society simply flows from big corporations to big government, corporations get big while the people diminish. Changing the flow of money enhances the lives of the people.
Now, I want to get back to the Application Service Providers.
The downside of direct taxation is that direct taxation allows the government to directly manipulate the people. To make this system work, we need a buffer between the government and people.
The Object Tax works as follows. It starts with an Open Source effort to write a computer program for the Tax Aware Accounts.
There is a lot of money to be made in handing money.
Business, banks, non-profits, computer firms, financial advisers and others will rush to implement this code. These Application Service Providers will compete on their ability to protect their clients from government excess.
If the Object Tax is implemented, people would experience the following. Individuals and businesses would be given the choice of continuing with the current withholding system or switching to the funky new object tax.
People who switch to the Object Tax would run out and find an Application Service Provider to host their account.
On switching to a Tax Aware Account, your employer would start paying you your full paycheck. The Tax Aware Account would start collecting your taxes when you withdraw money for consumption.
Because the Tax Aware Account includes all of the information needed to calculate our current progressive income tax. The program would eliminate the need for filing an annual return.
(Now, I should note, lets say there is a change in your tax status. Imagine that you get have a kid, get married, lose a leg, go blind, etc.; You can update your Tax Aware Account. The account will create an adjustment.)
The Tax Aware Accounts will give people greater control of their individual finances.
I must emphasize that there is a great deal of money to be made in handling money. Banks tend to have the nicest buildings in town because they handle money.
The ASPs hosting the Tax Aware Accounts will bowl over backwards to attract clients. Providers will not just stop with the tax code created by the Open Source Project. They will seek to enhance their offerings with other financial management tools.
The Object Tax Reform will give working class Americans a robust suite of financial management tools. The reform will give workers the same financial tools currently available only to the wealthy.
The Object Tax is not simply about the mechanics of tax collection. The aim of the reform is to improve the financial condition of the people living in this nation.
It is my strong belief that the best way to address the growing gap between rich and poor is to improve the financial condition of the poor.
To recap: Taxation is an integral part of the monetary system. The way tax money flows through the tax system affects the way the system behaves.
The Object Tax creates an open source program to replace the withholding system with tax aware accounts. This changes the flow of tax dollars so that the money flows from individuals to the state. This change should create an economy that is more responsive to the needs of individuals.
The program creates a layer of Application Service Providers that will provide financial services for working class Americans while providing a buffer between individuals and the state.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Ben Carson and Tithes
During and interview, presidential candidate Ben Carson was asked about tax reform. Carson's reply was that if a tithes were good enough for the church, then tithes are good enough for government.
Searching for the answers for modern problems in an ancient text is typical of conservative thought. The problem with this approach is that it often leads to misapplied solutions.
As you see, the government is not a church and the logic that applies to a church does not necessarily apply to government.
Interestingly, the New Testament has a few comments on taxation. In Matthew 22:21, Jesus is asked about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus looks at a coin and notes that it bears Caesar's image. Jesus stated something akin to ""Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" ((Wikipedia).
This Biblical reference touches on an important point: Taxation is part of the money supply. Taxation and money were the creation of man. They are not the creation of God.
As money and taxes are things created by man, it is up to us to figure out how to use these financial tools.
Our money supply is controlled by a quasi-government entity called "The Federal Reserve." The Federal Reserve creates money by lending a fiat currency to member banks.
The Federal Reserve is an inherently regressive mechanism for creating money. Since taxes are part of the money supply, I see nothing inherently wrong with trying to compensate for the regressive nature of the Federal Reserve with a progressive tax.
As for what I am doing: My tax reform proposal is to create a computer program to work as an alternative to the current tax withholding system.
Computers are not in The Bible. If we start with the premise that tax reform proposals must be in the Bible; then we necessarily eliminate any tax reform proposal built on information technology.
For that matter, the science of economics did not exist, per se, in Biblical times. If we are to take Ben Carson's suggestion to base taxation on Biblical principles, then we must necessarily ignore any insights gleened from the science of economics.
Anyway, Ben Carson was my favorite GOP candidate up to the moment that he declared an intention to replace the income tax with a tithe.
Searching for the answers for modern problems in an ancient text is typical of conservative thought. The problem with this approach is that it often leads to misapplied solutions.
As you see, the government is not a church and the logic that applies to a church does not necessarily apply to government.
Interestingly, the New Testament has a few comments on taxation. In Matthew 22:21, Jesus is asked about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus looks at a coin and notes that it bears Caesar's image. Jesus stated something akin to ""Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" ((Wikipedia).
This Biblical reference touches on an important point: Taxation is part of the money supply. Taxation and money were the creation of man. They are not the creation of God.
As money and taxes are things created by man, it is up to us to figure out how to use these financial tools.
Our money supply is controlled by a quasi-government entity called "The Federal Reserve." The Federal Reserve creates money by lending a fiat currency to member banks.
The Federal Reserve is an inherently regressive mechanism for creating money. Since taxes are part of the money supply, I see nothing inherently wrong with trying to compensate for the regressive nature of the Federal Reserve with a progressive tax.
As for what I am doing: My tax reform proposal is to create a computer program to work as an alternative to the current tax withholding system.
Computers are not in The Bible. If we start with the premise that tax reform proposals must be in the Bible; then we necessarily eliminate any tax reform proposal built on information technology.
For that matter, the science of economics did not exist, per se, in Biblical times. If we are to take Ben Carson's suggestion to base taxation on Biblical principles, then we must necessarily ignore any insights gleened from the science of economics.
Anyway, Ben Carson was my favorite GOP candidate up to the moment that he declared an intention to replace the income tax with a tithe.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
A Way to Improve the Fair Tax
The FAIR Tax replaces the income tax with a national sales tax. In order to make the tax progressive, the government sends monthly checks to Americans in the form of a "prebate."
In the current proposal, the annual prebate for a single person is about $2500 a year. The annual prebate for a family with six children is about $8000.
The problem with the prebate is that the money for the prebate comes from tax dollars in the form of a monthly government check. The prebates appear like a massive new government entitlement. Estimates say the prebates would cost the government about $489 billion a year.
I believe that one could improve the Flat Tax proposal by replacing the "prebate" with a tax coupon.
The tax coupon would be a card with a unique ID that allowed tax free purchases up to a given limit. The coupon would be similar to all of the other coupons that we encounter in commerce.
Merchants would be happy to accept the coupons because the coupons directly reduce the size of the check they must submit to the government.
It is likely that many merchants would be happy to buy the coupons from customers at or near the cash value of the tax coupons.
The government should encourage the direct purchase of coupons.
In this scenario a citizen might receive a monthly tax coupon with a face value of $500. To avoid the hassles of using it as a coupon, he would sell the coupon to the store. Since the store would apply the coupon value to their tax bill, the store is likely to buy the coupon at or near cash value.
In this scenario, the tax coupon is working like the tax prebate except for the fact that the money flows from the merchant to the consumer rather than from the government. Issuing the monthly prebate in the form of a coupon makes the prebate look a bit more like an in store gimmick than like a new government entitlement.
In the current proposal, the annual prebate for a single person is about $2500 a year. The annual prebate for a family with six children is about $8000.
The problem with the prebate is that the money for the prebate comes from tax dollars in the form of a monthly government check. The prebates appear like a massive new government entitlement. Estimates say the prebates would cost the government about $489 billion a year.
I believe that one could improve the Flat Tax proposal by replacing the "prebate" with a tax coupon.
The tax coupon would be a card with a unique ID that allowed tax free purchases up to a given limit. The coupon would be similar to all of the other coupons that we encounter in commerce.
Merchants would be happy to accept the coupons because the coupons directly reduce the size of the check they must submit to the government.
It is likely that many merchants would be happy to buy the coupons from customers at or near the cash value of the tax coupons.
The government should encourage the direct purchase of coupons.
In this scenario a citizen might receive a monthly tax coupon with a face value of $500. To avoid the hassles of using it as a coupon, he would sell the coupon to the store. Since the store would apply the coupon value to their tax bill, the store is likely to buy the coupon at or near cash value.
In this scenario, the tax coupon is working like the tax prebate except for the fact that the money flows from the merchant to the consumer rather than from the government. Issuing the monthly prebate in the form of a coupon makes the prebate look a bit more like an in store gimmick than like a new government entitlement.
Monday, April 20, 2015
A Massively Distributed Database
The current income tax works as follows: Each payroll cycle employers file detailed records with payroll information to the government. Once a year workers file tax returns with detailed personal information.
The IRS uses a massive internal database to match the detailed payroll records with the detailed personal records to make sure your taxes are in order.
The Object Tax creates a computer program called A Tax Aware Account.
Workers will set up Tax Aware Accounts through a third party of the workers' choosing.
Employees who opted to us Tax Aware Accounts would receive their entire paycheck into their account and report this fact to the IRS along with the rest of the payroll.
Unlike the current system where each taxpayer has a single id, the Tax Aware Accounts can have numerous ids.
The Tax Aware Accounts have all of the information needed to calculate a progressive income tax. Workers will pay their tax when they withdraw the funds.
While this system does not completely eliminate the need for an internal database at the IRS, the system establishes the Tax Aware Accounts as the primary taxpayer database.
From a database perspective: the Object Tax is replacing a massive internal database owned by the government with a massively distributed database with the data actually owned by the taxpayer.
From the end user perspective, the system works as follows. First of all you are given a choice of sticking with the current income tax system.
If you choose to switch to The Object Tax you will set up an account with a third party provider of your choice. You will enter all of the information needed to calculate your tax.
You will be able to generate multiple IDs for a given account. You will generate an account number and give the number to your employer.
Your employer will verify the account then start sending your full paycheck to the Tax Aware Account.
NOTE: You will actually pay taxes when you withdraw money from the account.
The Object Tax will build portability into the base of the system. If you are upset with your third party provider, you can switch providers.
These providers, of course, will compete for your business. They will add interesting web based and mobile interfaces to the accounts. I anticipate that many providers would add budgeting software and other features to the account.
The system is designed to make the Tax Aware Accounts the primary data store for taxation. The IRS and state tax authorities will occasionally need to access your accounts.
The accounts will include event tracking features; so, if an IRS agent or state auditor looks at your account; your account would record the event and what part of the account they visited.
I realize that what I am doing with the object tax is very geeky.
I work as a database programming. The proposal is to replace a massive government owned database with a massively distributed privately owned database.
The reform has a geeky name "The Object Tax." The book I am writing is filled with geeky concepts like "massively distributed databases."
On a rare occasion, geeky thought processes sometimes create extremely cool things.
I am basically proposing to use the same design methodology used to create the smartphone to upgrade our tax collection process. I don't hang out with the cool kids, but when I stare across the lunch room to the cool kids table, I notice that they all seem to have smart phones.
Anyway, I am running a kickstarter campaign to self-publish a book about this approach to reform. So far I have received no feedback.
That's probably because the reform proposal is blatantly geeky.
But, think about it, which would you rather see, the tax collection system designed by politicians (the cook kids) or one designed by the geeks?
HINT The current tax code is what happens when the cool kids design society. Geeks tend to make cool gadgets like smartphones and the internet.
The IRS uses a massive internal database to match the detailed payroll records with the detailed personal records to make sure your taxes are in order.
The Object Tax creates a computer program called A Tax Aware Account.
Workers will set up Tax Aware Accounts through a third party of the workers' choosing.
Employees who opted to us Tax Aware Accounts would receive their entire paycheck into their account and report this fact to the IRS along with the rest of the payroll.
Unlike the current system where each taxpayer has a single id, the Tax Aware Accounts can have numerous ids.
The Tax Aware Accounts have all of the information needed to calculate a progressive income tax. Workers will pay their tax when they withdraw the funds.
While this system does not completely eliminate the need for an internal database at the IRS, the system establishes the Tax Aware Accounts as the primary taxpayer database.
From a database perspective: the Object Tax is replacing a massive internal database owned by the government with a massively distributed database with the data actually owned by the taxpayer.
From the end user perspective, the system works as follows. First of all you are given a choice of sticking with the current income tax system.
If you choose to switch to The Object Tax you will set up an account with a third party provider of your choice. You will enter all of the information needed to calculate your tax.
You will be able to generate multiple IDs for a given account. You will generate an account number and give the number to your employer.
Your employer will verify the account then start sending your full paycheck to the Tax Aware Account.
NOTE: You will actually pay taxes when you withdraw money from the account.
The Object Tax will build portability into the base of the system. If you are upset with your third party provider, you can switch providers.
These providers, of course, will compete for your business. They will add interesting web based and mobile interfaces to the accounts. I anticipate that many providers would add budgeting software and other features to the account.
The system is designed to make the Tax Aware Accounts the primary data store for taxation. The IRS and state tax authorities will occasionally need to access your accounts.
The accounts will include event tracking features; so, if an IRS agent or state auditor looks at your account; your account would record the event and what part of the account they visited.
I realize that what I am doing with the object tax is very geeky.
I work as a database programming. The proposal is to replace a massive government owned database with a massively distributed privately owned database.
The reform has a geeky name "The Object Tax." The book I am writing is filled with geeky concepts like "massively distributed databases."
On a rare occasion, geeky thought processes sometimes create extremely cool things.
I am basically proposing to use the same design methodology used to create the smartphone to upgrade our tax collection process. I don't hang out with the cool kids, but when I stare across the lunch room to the cool kids table, I notice that they all seem to have smart phones.
Anyway, I am running a kickstarter campaign to self-publish a book about this approach to reform. So far I have received no feedback.
That's probably because the reform proposal is blatantly geeky.
But, think about it, which would you rather see, the tax collection system designed by politicians (the cook kids) or one designed by the geeks?
HINT The current tax code is what happens when the cool kids design society. Geeks tend to make cool gadgets like smartphones and the internet.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Who Will Host the Tax Aware Accounts?
I believe that the best way to address the growing gap between the rich and poor isn't to attack the rich, but to find ways to make the poor richer.
For the last several decades I've been driven by the question: How can we, as a free society, create free market structures which give the lower and middle class a leg up?
So, I've been looking for ways to improve the financial condition of lower and middle class workers.
I believe that we can do this with tax reform. I believe that if we changed the way that our society collects taxes that we can create a structure that improves the financial well being of the average American.
I gave my approach to reform the strange name: "The Object Tax." I am running a kickstarter project to write a book about the reform.
The Object Tax, named after Object Oriented Programming, uses an Open Source Project to create a computer program called "A Tax Aware Account." These accounts create an alternative mechanism for collecting taxes.
In the current system, the government withholds taxes from payrolls. Workers file an annnual return to get some money back.
The Object Tax creates a the Tax Aware Account as an alternative path for collecting taxes. (NOTE, it is alternative that can coexist with the current system).
People who choose to follow this path will receive their entire paycheck into the Tax Aware Account and pay taxes when they withdraw their money for spending.
The reform creates the Tax Aware Account with an open source project.
The exciting part of the reform occurs when one asks the basic question: "Who will host the accounts?"
The program was developed by an Open Source Project which dramatically lowers the cost of entry. This means that the program can be run by financial advisers, accountants and other small businesses.
Now, there is a great deal of money involved in tax collection. Businesses will compete to gain market share by extending the Tax Aware Accounts with additional budgeting software and financial advisers.
The Object Tax doesn't just create an alternative means for collecting taxes. The reform creates a market which directly provides workers with budgeting software and financial advisers.
Now, the reason that I want to publish a book about the reform is that one needs to see the reform as a whole to understand just why the reform would result in bringing valuable financial services to the lower wage workers that lower wage workers currently miss.
I can't simply blog about the reform because each blog post must be self contained. For example, I had to waste the first third of this blog post rehashing the development of the program to introduce the idea that the accounts will be hosted by private financial service providers.
In the book, the next chapter will talk about how the financial service providers provide a buffer between the IRS and the public. A blog post that introduces this point has to rehash through the creation of the accounts and that they will be hosted by financial services companies and that these companies will offer services to help protect people from the IRS.
I believe that if I am able to present the arguments for The Object Tax in book form that readers would get a better picture of the reform and understand why it is a mechanism that would help improve the financial condition of the average American.
A week into the Kickstarter Campaign, I've received some form letters offering to sell me services but no feedback on the idea itself.
For the last several decades I've been driven by the question: How can we, as a free society, create free market structures which give the lower and middle class a leg up?
So, I've been looking for ways to improve the financial condition of lower and middle class workers.
I believe that we can do this with tax reform. I believe that if we changed the way that our society collects taxes that we can create a structure that improves the financial well being of the average American.
I gave my approach to reform the strange name: "The Object Tax." I am running a kickstarter project to write a book about the reform.
The Object Tax, named after Object Oriented Programming, uses an Open Source Project to create a computer program called "A Tax Aware Account." These accounts create an alternative mechanism for collecting taxes.
In the current system, the government withholds taxes from payrolls. Workers file an annnual return to get some money back.
The Object Tax creates a the Tax Aware Account as an alternative path for collecting taxes. (NOTE, it is alternative that can coexist with the current system).
People who choose to follow this path will receive their entire paycheck into the Tax Aware Account and pay taxes when they withdraw their money for spending.
The reform creates the Tax Aware Account with an open source project.
The exciting part of the reform occurs when one asks the basic question: "Who will host the accounts?"
The program was developed by an Open Source Project which dramatically lowers the cost of entry. This means that the program can be run by financial advisers, accountants and other small businesses.
Now, there is a great deal of money involved in tax collection. Businesses will compete to gain market share by extending the Tax Aware Accounts with additional budgeting software and financial advisers.
The Object Tax doesn't just create an alternative means for collecting taxes. The reform creates a market which directly provides workers with budgeting software and financial advisers.
Now, the reason that I want to publish a book about the reform is that one needs to see the reform as a whole to understand just why the reform would result in bringing valuable financial services to the lower wage workers that lower wage workers currently miss.
I can't simply blog about the reform because each blog post must be self contained. For example, I had to waste the first third of this blog post rehashing the development of the program to introduce the idea that the accounts will be hosted by private financial service providers.
In the book, the next chapter will talk about how the financial service providers provide a buffer between the IRS and the public. A blog post that introduces this point has to rehash through the creation of the accounts and that they will be hosted by financial services companies and that these companies will offer services to help protect people from the IRS.
I believe that if I am able to present the arguments for The Object Tax in book form that readers would get a better picture of the reform and understand why it is a mechanism that would help improve the financial condition of the average American.
A week into the Kickstarter Campaign, I've received some form letters offering to sell me services but no feedback on the idea itself.
Friday, April 17, 2015
A Modest Reform with a Powerful Impact
The Object Tax is a modest reform. The reform creates a computer program called A Tax Aware Account as an alternative to payroll witholdings.
The reform named after Object Oriented Programming. The Tax Aware Account is a computer object that wraps around a bank account. The account includes the information needed to calculate a progressive tax.
Workers who choose this option would receive their entire paycheck into the Tax Aware Account. The account will calculate the tax rate and pay taxes when the user withdraws money.
The accounts include all of the information needed to calculate taxes in real time; so the reform eliminates the need for an annual tax return.
The Object Tax calculates the same tax as the income tax.
The big difference is that the money flows from the worker and not from the employer.
The reason that I developed this reform was because I believe people would have a better understanding of governance if they saw the money for governance flowing from their account.
My reasoning is based on the observation that self-employed workers who have to send money to the government have different opinions than workers who have taxes withheld from their paycheck.
The reform also changes the focus of the tax debate from jobs and employers to the financial well being of individuals.
Personally, I do not think the United States has a tax crisis. We have a spending crisis. Tax reform will not change the spending habits of Congress. Changing the view people have about taxes might help encourage long term change in Congress.
I consider myself to be a classical liberal (a close kin to Libertarianism). I think changing the flow of tax dollars so that the money goes through individual accounts is a positive move.
More importantly, I think the reform could gain bipartisan support. I think this for several reasons:
While I do not think we can solve the problems of excessive government spending with tax reform, I encourage people to engage in debate about tax reform because such debates highlight the fact that our state and federal governments have exceeded their spending capacity. No matter how we configure tax reform, America simply cannot afford to continue the wasteful spending that we see in Washington DC.
I am running a Kickstarter Project so that I can self-publish a book. I am disappointed that the campaign hasn't received any feedback yet as I feel that this approach to reform is the best that we can do in 2016.
The campaign is young and I may receive some feedback before the campaign is through.
The reform named after Object Oriented Programming. The Tax Aware Account is a computer object that wraps around a bank account. The account includes the information needed to calculate a progressive tax.
Workers who choose this option would receive their entire paycheck into the Tax Aware Account. The account will calculate the tax rate and pay taxes when the user withdraws money.
The accounts include all of the information needed to calculate taxes in real time; so the reform eliminates the need for an annual tax return.
The Object Tax calculates the same tax as the income tax.
The big difference is that the money flows from the worker and not from the employer.
The reason that I developed this reform was because I believe people would have a better understanding of governance if they saw the money for governance flowing from their account.
My reasoning is based on the observation that self-employed workers who have to send money to the government have different opinions than workers who have taxes withheld from their paycheck.
The reform also changes the focus of the tax debate from jobs and employers to the financial well being of individuals.
Personally, I do not think the United States has a tax crisis. We have a spending crisis. Tax reform will not change the spending habits of Congress. Changing the view people have about taxes might help encourage long term change in Congress.
I consider myself to be a classical liberal (a close kin to Libertarianism). I think changing the flow of tax dollars so that the money goes through individual accounts is a positive move.
More importantly, I think the reform could gain bipartisan support. I think this for several reasons:
- The reform would streamline the tax collection process by eliminating payroll withholdings and the need for an annual return.
- The Reform is not disruptive. The reform is presented as an alternative that calculates the same progressive tax rate as the existing tax.
- The reform adds transparency to the tax code by creating an open source project to write the software for the Tax Aware Accounts.
- The reform also has a cool factor. The reform uses the design methodology used to create smartphones to create a tax collecting computer program.
- From an economic perspective, the reform transitions the current income tax from a production tax to a consumption tax.
While I do not think we can solve the problems of excessive government spending with tax reform, I encourage people to engage in debate about tax reform because such debates highlight the fact that our state and federal governments have exceeded their spending capacity. No matter how we configure tax reform, America simply cannot afford to continue the wasteful spending that we see in Washington DC.
I am running a Kickstarter Project so that I can self-publish a book. I am disappointed that the campaign hasn't received any feedback yet as I feel that this approach to reform is the best that we can do in 2016.
The campaign is young and I may receive some feedback before the campaign is through.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
The American People are Smart
I've encountered many progressives who seem to hold that the American people are stupid and that we need a larger overbearing government that lies to and manipulates the people for their own good. The video shows an exchange with PPACA (ObamaCare) architect Johnathan Gruber in what I find to be a typical conversation:
I happen to believe the opposite. I think the American people are extremely intelligent and that it is not only possible to create a reform program in a transparent manner. I believe that a program developed in a transparent manner will be superior to one developed by power players behind closed doors.
The only feedback I've received on "The Object Tax" is that people find the name is a bit pretentious.
The reform is named after Object Oriented Programming. My guess is that the vast majority of Americans between 15 and 50 have had a programming class and know what an object is. An object is a programming construct that groups together data and procedures.
I suspect that more Americans have attended programming classes than classes on Constitutional Law.
The Object Tax replaces the burdensome system of payroll withholdings and the annual return with a thing called a Tax Aware Account.
The Tax Aware Account is an object. This object includes the information needed to calculate a progressive tax along with information about individual financial transactions. The object has procedures for calculating and paying taxes.
Most computer savvy Americans know Object Design process was used to create the graphical user interfaces used on the MacIntosh Computer, Windows, the World Wide Web and Smartphones.
The reform proposal says: Let's use the design techniques behind the World Wide Web and Smartphones to streamline the tax collection process.
I believe the American people are smart enough to understand this concept. In fact, I am willing to take things one step further.
I believe that we could use an Open Source process to create a Tax Aware Account that executes the current tax code.
Open Source programming is simply a technique to allow a large group of people to participate in a project and share in the rewards of the creation.
Perhaps the best example of Open Source development in action is Wikipedia. Wikipedia invites the public to help create the world's largest encyclopedia.
To finalize my faith in the American people, I believe that if The Object Tax were approached correctly, we could create a program that empowers the American people to take charge of their personal finances.
Now, personally I dislike the subject of tax reform. The reason that I am trying to kickstart this book on tax reform is because I believe in the American People.
In my opinion, the current convoluted tax code demonstrates that our political system has systematically failed the American people. The Object Tax would provide a chance for the American people to stand up and show that there is a better way. The Object Tax suggests that we use the wonderful ideas that came from Silicon Valley to reform the hideous tax system that came out of Washington DC.
I believe the American people are smart enough to understand the approach that I am suggesting.
The problem I face is not with the lack of intelligence among the American people. The challenge I face is in breaking through the fog that the political system has draped around the process of governance.
Quite frankly, I think more people are put off by the subject tax reform than are put off about by the subject of computer programming and system engineering.
My hope with this kickstarter campaign and book suggestion is that it might start a conversation that leads America in a better direction than the one that the partisan political process follows. With luck a few people will get it. If I am able to carry through with this project it might have a positive impact by influencing the tax reform debate that will invariably take place during the 2016 election.
I happen to believe the opposite. I think the American people are extremely intelligent and that it is not only possible to create a reform program in a transparent manner. I believe that a program developed in a transparent manner will be superior to one developed by power players behind closed doors.
The only feedback I've received on "The Object Tax" is that people find the name is a bit pretentious.
The reform is named after Object Oriented Programming. My guess is that the vast majority of Americans between 15 and 50 have had a programming class and know what an object is. An object is a programming construct that groups together data and procedures.
I suspect that more Americans have attended programming classes than classes on Constitutional Law.
The Object Tax replaces the burdensome system of payroll withholdings and the annual return with a thing called a Tax Aware Account.
The Tax Aware Account is an object. This object includes the information needed to calculate a progressive tax along with information about individual financial transactions. The object has procedures for calculating and paying taxes.
Most computer savvy Americans know Object Design process was used to create the graphical user interfaces used on the MacIntosh Computer, Windows, the World Wide Web and Smartphones.
The reform proposal says: Let's use the design techniques behind the World Wide Web and Smartphones to streamline the tax collection process.
I believe the American people are smart enough to understand this concept. In fact, I am willing to take things one step further.
I believe that we could use an Open Source process to create a Tax Aware Account that executes the current tax code.
Open Source programming is simply a technique to allow a large group of people to participate in a project and share in the rewards of the creation.
Perhaps the best example of Open Source development in action is Wikipedia. Wikipedia invites the public to help create the world's largest encyclopedia.
To finalize my faith in the American people, I believe that if The Object Tax were approached correctly, we could create a program that empowers the American people to take charge of their personal finances.
Now, personally I dislike the subject of tax reform. The reason that I am trying to kickstart this book on tax reform is because I believe in the American People.
In my opinion, the current convoluted tax code demonstrates that our political system has systematically failed the American people. The Object Tax would provide a chance for the American people to stand up and show that there is a better way. The Object Tax suggests that we use the wonderful ideas that came from Silicon Valley to reform the hideous tax system that came out of Washington DC.
I believe the American people are smart enough to understand the approach that I am suggesting.
The problem I face is not with the lack of intelligence among the American people. The challenge I face is in breaking through the fog that the political system has draped around the process of governance.
Quite frankly, I think more people are put off by the subject tax reform than are put off about by the subject of computer programming and system engineering.
My hope with this kickstarter campaign and book suggestion is that it might start a conversation that leads America in a better direction than the one that the partisan political process follows. With luck a few people will get it. If I am able to carry through with this project it might have a positive impact by influencing the tax reform debate that will invariably take place during the 2016 election.
Compliance Costs
In 2013, The Tax Foundation reported that our current tax code consumed over 61 billion man hours of compliance costs. Things have likely gotten worse since then.
Researchers studying compliance costs tend to focus exclusively on the length of the tax code. The length of the tax code clearly contributes to compliance costs. I support efforts to reduce loopholes and lower tax rates.
That said, the main compliance costs are not due to the length of the code. The compliance costs result from the way we go about collecting and reporting taxes.
In the status quo, employers must gather tax information from their workers and submit payroll taxes with the payroll. Employers report total taxes collected through the year to the government and employees at the end of the year. Workers must file a tax return by April 15th. This complex return must include include all of the receipts and forms needed to claim deductions.
This system requires that people touch each tax related piece of information multiple times during the year.
So, lets examine something simple like the solar tax credit. To get this credit, taxpayers must fill out forms when they buy solar panels and keep all of the receipts. The solar panel provider must gather tax information buyers and submit records of sales to the government. Taxpayers must submit additional forms with their tax returns. The IRS compares the forms from the buyer to the forms from the seller. If either party made a mistake, the mistake would require a complex correction process.
The Object Tax solves this problem by creating a single point of taxation which resolves taxes in real time.
The central feature of the Object Tax is a thing called a Tax Aware Account. The Tax Aware Account contains all of the information needed to calculate a progress tax in real time. With this reform, workers would receive their entire paycheck into the account and pay taxes when they withdraw the money for spending.
The system handles tax exemptions simply by allowing the transaction without charging taxes.
When buying a solar panel, the taxpayer would receive a code from the solar panel provider that allows the transaction to proceed without paying taxes. The system would generate a unique id for the transaction trail and that would be that.
The taxpayer would experience the full impact of the tax exemption at the point of sale and would never have to touch the transaction again. The IRS would have a unique ID for reporting and auditing purposes.
This tax reform would embed the tax ramifications of a transaction into the initial transaction. This would eliminate the bulk of the compliance costs.
I happen to be a big fan of flat taxes and few loopholes. My biggest concern is that the Object Tax lowers compliance costs to such an extent that an activist Congress might use the program for even more social engineering.
There are some things that can be done in the design of the project to reduce this impulse. Unfortunately, it is impossible to eliminate the desire of the government to lord over the people. Unfortunately, every conceivable tax reform is open to abuse.
Researchers studying compliance costs tend to focus exclusively on the length of the tax code. The length of the tax code clearly contributes to compliance costs. I support efforts to reduce loopholes and lower tax rates.
That said, the main compliance costs are not due to the length of the code. The compliance costs result from the way we go about collecting and reporting taxes.
In the status quo, employers must gather tax information from their workers and submit payroll taxes with the payroll. Employers report total taxes collected through the year to the government and employees at the end of the year. Workers must file a tax return by April 15th. This complex return must include include all of the receipts and forms needed to claim deductions.
This system requires that people touch each tax related piece of information multiple times during the year.
So, lets examine something simple like the solar tax credit. To get this credit, taxpayers must fill out forms when they buy solar panels and keep all of the receipts. The solar panel provider must gather tax information buyers and submit records of sales to the government. Taxpayers must submit additional forms with their tax returns. The IRS compares the forms from the buyer to the forms from the seller. If either party made a mistake, the mistake would require a complex correction process.
The Object Tax solves this problem by creating a single point of taxation which resolves taxes in real time.
The central feature of the Object Tax is a thing called a Tax Aware Account. The Tax Aware Account contains all of the information needed to calculate a progress tax in real time. With this reform, workers would receive their entire paycheck into the account and pay taxes when they withdraw the money for spending.
The system handles tax exemptions simply by allowing the transaction without charging taxes.
When buying a solar panel, the taxpayer would receive a code from the solar panel provider that allows the transaction to proceed without paying taxes. The system would generate a unique id for the transaction trail and that would be that.
The taxpayer would experience the full impact of the tax exemption at the point of sale and would never have to touch the transaction again. The IRS would have a unique ID for reporting and auditing purposes.
This tax reform would embed the tax ramifications of a transaction into the initial transaction. This would eliminate the bulk of the compliance costs.
I happen to be a big fan of flat taxes and few loopholes. My biggest concern is that the Object Tax lowers compliance costs to such an extent that an activist Congress might use the program for even more social engineering.
There are some things that can be done in the design of the project to reduce this impulse. Unfortunately, it is impossible to eliminate the desire of the government to lord over the people. Unfortunately, every conceivable tax reform is open to abuse.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
From the Point of View of the Producer, the FairTax is a Production Tax
When designing tax reform, it is extremely important to look at the problem from multiple points of view.
The FairTax approaches taxation from a single point of view. Neal Boortz believes a sales tax is a consumption tax because, from his perspective, the tax is collected when he consumes things.
But, Neal Boortz is not the only person on the planet. There are at least two people involved in every financial transaction.
The FairTax places a huge sales tax on the sale of goods and services.
From the point of view of the producer, the FairTax is collected when the producer realizes a return from the item produced.
A proper analysis of tax reform should look at the flow of money through the system from multiple perspectives. Because the money from the FairTax would flow from producers at the moment they receive the reward for production, it is still a production tax.
Don't you see? The point of sale is the moment when companies realize their reward for production. From a production standpoint, this is the absolute worst place to collect taxes. I've worked for companies that did not have sales (usually due to the incompetence of upper management). Every single one of them ended up closing because of the lack of sales.
For a reform to be a true consumption tax, the money needs to flow from the consumer.
This blog is about a reform called "The Object Tax" named after Object Oriented Programming. The reform creates a new computerized interface for the current income tax. What happens is that workers receive their entire paycheck into a tax aware account. They pay taxes when they prepare to spend money.
This approach to tax reform creates a true consumption tax because the tax dollars flow from the consumer when the consumer prepares for spending.
The flow of money determines the nature of the tax. A sales tax is a tax on production because the money flows from the producer. The Object Tax creates a true consumption tax because the money flows from the consumer as the consumer prepares for consumption.
A tax placed on a producer is a production tax. A tax placed on a consumer is a consumption tax. The flow of money determines the nature of the tax.
The FairTax approaches taxation from a single point of view. Neal Boortz believes a sales tax is a consumption tax because, from his perspective, the tax is collected when he consumes things.
But, Neal Boortz is not the only person on the planet. There are at least two people involved in every financial transaction.
The FairTax places a huge sales tax on the sale of goods and services.
From the point of view of the producer, the FairTax is collected when the producer realizes a return from the item produced.
A proper analysis of tax reform should look at the flow of money through the system from multiple perspectives. Because the money from the FairTax would flow from producers at the moment they receive the reward for production, it is still a production tax.
Don't you see? The point of sale is the moment when companies realize their reward for production. From a production standpoint, this is the absolute worst place to collect taxes. I've worked for companies that did not have sales (usually due to the incompetence of upper management). Every single one of them ended up closing because of the lack of sales.
For a reform to be a true consumption tax, the money needs to flow from the consumer.
This blog is about a reform called "The Object Tax" named after Object Oriented Programming. The reform creates a new computerized interface for the current income tax. What happens is that workers receive their entire paycheck into a tax aware account. They pay taxes when they prepare to spend money.
This approach to tax reform creates a true consumption tax because the tax dollars flow from the consumer when the consumer prepares for spending.
The flow of money determines the nature of the tax. A sales tax is a tax on production because the money flows from the producer. The Object Tax creates a true consumption tax because the money flows from the consumer as the consumer prepares for consumption.
A tax placed on a producer is a production tax. A tax placed on a consumer is a consumption tax. The flow of money determines the nature of the tax.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
The Flow of Money
One of the primary themes of "The Object Tax is that reform should consider the way that money flows through the economy. Here is a snippet from the work that would be published if my Kickstarter campaign is success.
In the status quo, the money that the government needs to run comes in the form of large checks from huge corporations. Corporations are able to use the flow of money to gain political influence. Industrial lobbyists routinely point to the taxes paid by their industries to gain favor in Washington.
The Object Tax does not change the tax rate. It simply changes the flow of money. Taxpayer dollars will flow from the corporation into Tax Aware Accounts. Tax dollars then flow from individuals to the government.
The reform will change the relation between government, employers and individuals. Changing the flow of money so that tax dollars flow directly from the people to the government will cause the bureaucracy to realign with the needs of the people while reducing the political clout of large corporations.
Changing the flow of taxpayer dollars so that the money flows from individual accounts to the government should have a positive effect on our government.
"A bureaucracy tends to form to the flow of the money through the system. In the current withholding system, money from flows from employers to the Federal government. Since money flows from large corporate entities to the government, the bureaucracy naturally forms around the flow of money between large entities.This study in the flow of money is not simply an academic exercise. The flow of money has profound effects on the way that government operates.
Taxpayers file an annual return. If the IRS feels that a given tax return is in order, the IRS might send a refund check. If the IRS feels there are mistakes with the return; the IRS might audit or fine the individual.
The flow of money places the individual taxpayer in a subordinate position.
The Object Tax creates an alternative flow for the money. In this structure, employees receive their entire paycheck and the money flows from Tax Aware Accounts held by individuals to the government. This change in the flow of money will cause the internal bureaucracy to be better in line with the needs of the people.
In the status quo, the money that the government needs to run comes in the form of large checks from huge corporations. Corporations are able to use the flow of money to gain political influence. Industrial lobbyists routinely point to the taxes paid by their industries to gain favor in Washington.
The Object Tax does not change the tax rate. It simply changes the flow of money. Taxpayer dollars will flow from the corporation into Tax Aware Accounts. Tax dollars then flow from individuals to the government.
The reform will change the relation between government, employers and individuals. Changing the flow of money so that tax dollars flow directly from the people to the government will cause the bureaucracy to realign with the needs of the people while reducing the political clout of large corporations.
Changing the flow of taxpayer dollars so that the money flows from individual accounts to the government should have a positive effect on our government.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Kickstarter Project
I just launched a Kickstarter Project. The goal of this project is to raise funds to publish a book to be called "The Object Tax" to present an original tax reform proposal.
This tax reform proposal suggests that Congress launch an Open Source Project to create a computer program to collect taxes. The reform is named after Object Oriented Programming which was used to create graphical user interfaces including Apple Computers, Windows, Smart Phones and a thing called The World Wide Web.
In the current tax system the government withholds taxes from workers' paychecks. Workers file an annual return to get some of the money back.
The Object Tax would create a computer object called a Tax Aware Account as an alternative to withholdings. People who choose this option would receive their entire check into a tax aware account. They would pay taxes when they withdraw money for spending. The accounts would include all the information needed to accurately calculate a progressive income tax. The reform would eliminate payroll withholdings and need to file an annual tax return.
Lets say you receive a check for $1000 and your progressive tax rate was 20%. When you withdraw the money, the program would send $200 to the government and give you $800 in cash.
This reform effectively transforms the income tax from a production tax to a consumption tax. As the Object Tax is simply an alternative interface to the existing income tax, it can be implemented without the disruption involved in other schemes like the FairTax which seeks to replace the income tax with a national sales tax.
I admit, my primary reason for writing this book is that I dislike the FairTax. I wish to have a book with an ISBN and Library of Congress number so that I can challenge politicians who've been seduced by the FairTax with a better reform proposal. The Object Tax transforms our current tax code into a consumption tax without disruption.
Because my goal is to challenge supporters of the FairTax, much of the book will include chapters on why the Object Tax is a better path to reform than the FairTax.
The book will also touch on the many interesting ideas that would arise if Congress were to launch an Open Source Project to reform the tax code. The project would bring up fascinating conversations about the role Open Source Programming should play in implementing government policy, along with conversations about important issues such as individual privacy in the information age, the need for a better taxpayer identification system, the flow of money in the economy and more.
My Kickstarter Project seeks to pre-sell 40 books at $20 a pop. The kickstarter project would raise enough funds to pay for the Ruby publishing option at Outskirts Press (including an additional $99 to submit the work to the Library of Congress). Of course, after I publish the work, I will have to buy forty copies of the book from Outskirts Press; So, $800 isn't quite sufficient to cover the full cost of publishing book, but it is close enough for government work.
I will post chapters of the book on this blog during the kickstarter campaign.
Kickstarter uses an all or nothing approach to funding projects. If I fail to reach my $800 goal, I get nothing and I won't publish the book. If you like the idea of creating Tax Aware Accounts as an alternative to the current withholding system or if you are interested in the role of Open Source Programming in implementing government policy; you might consider supporting the project. If you make a pledge for $20, you will get a signed copy of the book. If I fail to reach my goal of forty pre-sold books; well, the pledge costs nothing and the book goes unpublished.
NOTE: I will post many of the chapters of the book on this blog. So you can read the idea without having to part with any cash.
This tax reform proposal suggests that Congress launch an Open Source Project to create a computer program to collect taxes. The reform is named after Object Oriented Programming which was used to create graphical user interfaces including Apple Computers, Windows, Smart Phones and a thing called The World Wide Web.
In the current tax system the government withholds taxes from workers' paychecks. Workers file an annual return to get some of the money back.
The Object Tax would create a computer object called a Tax Aware Account as an alternative to withholdings. People who choose this option would receive their entire check into a tax aware account. They would pay taxes when they withdraw money for spending. The accounts would include all the information needed to accurately calculate a progressive income tax. The reform would eliminate payroll withholdings and need to file an annual tax return.
Lets say you receive a check for $1000 and your progressive tax rate was 20%. When you withdraw the money, the program would send $200 to the government and give you $800 in cash.
This reform effectively transforms the income tax from a production tax to a consumption tax. As the Object Tax is simply an alternative interface to the existing income tax, it can be implemented without the disruption involved in other schemes like the FairTax which seeks to replace the income tax with a national sales tax.
I admit, my primary reason for writing this book is that I dislike the FairTax. I wish to have a book with an ISBN and Library of Congress number so that I can challenge politicians who've been seduced by the FairTax with a better reform proposal. The Object Tax transforms our current tax code into a consumption tax without disruption.
Because my goal is to challenge supporters of the FairTax, much of the book will include chapters on why the Object Tax is a better path to reform than the FairTax.
The book will also touch on the many interesting ideas that would arise if Congress were to launch an Open Source Project to reform the tax code. The project would bring up fascinating conversations about the role Open Source Programming should play in implementing government policy, along with conversations about important issues such as individual privacy in the information age, the need for a better taxpayer identification system, the flow of money in the economy and more.
My Kickstarter Project seeks to pre-sell 40 books at $20 a pop. The kickstarter project would raise enough funds to pay for the Ruby publishing option at Outskirts Press (including an additional $99 to submit the work to the Library of Congress). Of course, after I publish the work, I will have to buy forty copies of the book from Outskirts Press; So, $800 isn't quite sufficient to cover the full cost of publishing book, but it is close enough for government work.
I will post chapters of the book on this blog during the kickstarter campaign.
Kickstarter uses an all or nothing approach to funding projects. If I fail to reach my $800 goal, I get nothing and I won't publish the book. If you like the idea of creating Tax Aware Accounts as an alternative to the current withholding system or if you are interested in the role of Open Source Programming in implementing government policy; you might consider supporting the project. If you make a pledge for $20, you will get a signed copy of the book. If I fail to reach my goal of forty pre-sold books; well, the pledge costs nothing and the book goes unpublished.
NOTE: I will post many of the chapters of the book on this blog. So you can read the idea without having to part with any cash.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Can We Find Solutions in Partisanship?
I am extremely upset with modern politics. We have a stream of movements like the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street which create a great deal of noise, but fail to produce solutions for the challenges of the day.
I believe that the participants in these movements are authentically seeking solutions. Unfortunately, the movements tend to be captured by partisan politicians who are driven by a desire to gain power. The partisan leadership at the head of such movements tend to undermine the authentic desires of the people in the movements.
I spent the last year researching the ugly history of partisan politics in the US and abroad. Partisan politics evolved to the desire of political leaders who sought to gain power by pitting people against each other. The end result of partisan politics (left, right and center) is that the politics tends to concentrate power in a ruling class of politicians while undermining the needs of the people.
I have to emphasize that the US Founders despised the factions they saw in Europe. It is likely that they were seeking a way out of the partisan mess.
NOTE: Conservatism is not the ideology of the US founders. Conservatism is a partisan ideology created in 1834 when the Tory Party, led by Sir Robert Peel, rebranded itself as "The Conservative Party." The Tories were the people who fought against the US Founders.
If we can't find solutions in partisanship, where can we find it?
In this blog, The Object Tax, I suggest that we can solve some problems by applying the some of the design techniques used in Silicon Valley to develop computer systems.
The United States has an inefficient income system. The government withholds money from our paychecks. We then must waste a weekend each year filing a tax return.
I suggest that the best path to tax reform is to approach this inefficient tax system as if it were a programming problem. The reform is named after Object Oriented Programming. The reform simply asks that Congress create an open source project to develop a new interface for the existing tax system.
This reform proposal itself is not seeking to replace the income tax. The reform simply seeks to use a proven design methodology to create a more efficient user interface so that taxes wouldn't take up so much time.
Fundamental to this proposal is that the new interface can exist alongside the existing system without disruption. The project would develop a new account based alternative to the withholding system. Taxpayers would choose the new system if they find it more convenient.
Personally, I do not think tax reform is a critical issue, but it is an issue that affects all Americans. If we used the constructive methodology from the computer industry to streamline tax collection, we could save Americans and American businesses the energy wasted on an inefficient system.
The reform also makes the important statement that the actual process of governance should be based on constructive designs rather than partisan bickering.
My previous post shows how partisanship makes tax collection worse. There is solid evidence to show that the IRS targeted conservative groups. The GOP responded to partisanship in the IRS by slashing the agency's budget. The IRS in turn has responded to the slashed budget by an extremely sharp decrease in customer service with a partisan finger pointed back at Congress.
We see that partisanship leads to actions followed by reactions that have the net effect of damaging the ability of the IRS to fairly collect taxes.
Both sides of the IRS squabble are behaving like children!
It seems to me that tax reform provides an ideal opportunity for the American people to step in and demand better behavior from Washington. The American people could do this by creating an open source project to create a streamlined alternative to the current tax system that requires payroll withholdings and an annual return.
Partisan bickering is destructive. It leads toward division and waste. I believe the open source community could shine if people were to stand up and demonstrate the power of constructive thinking; So, I will spend the next couple of months blogging about how an open source program could have positive effects on government.
I believe that the participants in these movements are authentically seeking solutions. Unfortunately, the movements tend to be captured by partisan politicians who are driven by a desire to gain power. The partisan leadership at the head of such movements tend to undermine the authentic desires of the people in the movements.
I spent the last year researching the ugly history of partisan politics in the US and abroad. Partisan politics evolved to the desire of political leaders who sought to gain power by pitting people against each other. The end result of partisan politics (left, right and center) is that the politics tends to concentrate power in a ruling class of politicians while undermining the needs of the people.
I have to emphasize that the US Founders despised the factions they saw in Europe. It is likely that they were seeking a way out of the partisan mess.
NOTE: Conservatism is not the ideology of the US founders. Conservatism is a partisan ideology created in 1834 when the Tory Party, led by Sir Robert Peel, rebranded itself as "The Conservative Party." The Tories were the people who fought against the US Founders.
If we can't find solutions in partisanship, where can we find it?
In this blog, The Object Tax, I suggest that we can solve some problems by applying the some of the design techniques used in Silicon Valley to develop computer systems.
The United States has an inefficient income system. The government withholds money from our paychecks. We then must waste a weekend each year filing a tax return.
I suggest that the best path to tax reform is to approach this inefficient tax system as if it were a programming problem. The reform is named after Object Oriented Programming. The reform simply asks that Congress create an open source project to develop a new interface for the existing tax system.
This reform proposal itself is not seeking to replace the income tax. The reform simply seeks to use a proven design methodology to create a more efficient user interface so that taxes wouldn't take up so much time.
Fundamental to this proposal is that the new interface can exist alongside the existing system without disruption. The project would develop a new account based alternative to the withholding system. Taxpayers would choose the new system if they find it more convenient.
Personally, I do not think tax reform is a critical issue, but it is an issue that affects all Americans. If we used the constructive methodology from the computer industry to streamline tax collection, we could save Americans and American businesses the energy wasted on an inefficient system.
The reform also makes the important statement that the actual process of governance should be based on constructive designs rather than partisan bickering.
My previous post shows how partisanship makes tax collection worse. There is solid evidence to show that the IRS targeted conservative groups. The GOP responded to partisanship in the IRS by slashing the agency's budget. The IRS in turn has responded to the slashed budget by an extremely sharp decrease in customer service with a partisan finger pointed back at Congress.
We see that partisanship leads to actions followed by reactions that have the net effect of damaging the ability of the IRS to fairly collect taxes.
Both sides of the IRS squabble are behaving like children!
It seems to me that tax reform provides an ideal opportunity for the American people to step in and demand better behavior from Washington. The American people could do this by creating an open source project to create a streamlined alternative to the current tax system that requires payroll withholdings and an annual return.
Partisan bickering is destructive. It leads toward division and waste. I believe the open source community could shine if people were to stand up and demonstrate the power of constructive thinking; So, I will spend the next couple of months blogging about how an open source program could have positive effects on government.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Conservatives Targeting the IRS
Conservatives are playing a dangerous game by targeting the IRS in response to the IRS's targeting of conservatives.
Americans hate petty behavior. Americans truly sympathized with conservatives in the wake of the IRS scandals of the first half of the Obama administration.
However, conservatives squandered all of the political capital they gained by seeking petty retribution against the IRS rather than seeking reform.
The Internal Revenue Service is the one agency that every single taxpaying American must contact at least once a year. The fact that we all have to interface with the IRS gives the IRS a huge public platform.
The IRS need simply reduce the quality of service and point the finger at the petty GOP.
Everyone who receives poor customer service will now tweet their anger and dislike of Conservatism and the GOP.
Because the GOP acts in such a petty manner, the American public stop seeing it as a party of ideas, but simply see it as the party of petty retribution.
The problem inherent in conservatism is that conservatives do not engage in constructive dialog. Conservatism is an ideology imported from England that builds power through base reaction.
(NOTE: conservatism is the ideology of the Conservative Party of England. The Conservative Party was created in 1834 from the remains Tory Party. The Tories were the people who fought against the US Founders. Conservatism is a fundamental rejection of the ideals at the foundation of this nation.)
Conservatives, apparently, are hoping to use the hatred of the IRS to push through The Fairtax. By intentionally under funding the IRS and preventing it from accomplishing its mission, the GOP hopes to magnify the hatred of the IRS.
But this type of petty partisan maneuvering is obvious. But this politics of retribution and hatred always backfires.
If we want to solve the problems of the day; we simply must come up with a better way than this system ruled by the radical politics of the left and the reactionary politics of the right.
This base system of action and reaction always leads to the worst possible result.
Americans hate petty behavior. Americans truly sympathized with conservatives in the wake of the IRS scandals of the first half of the Obama administration.
However, conservatives squandered all of the political capital they gained by seeking petty retribution against the IRS rather than seeking reform.
The Internal Revenue Service is the one agency that every single taxpaying American must contact at least once a year. The fact that we all have to interface with the IRS gives the IRS a huge public platform.
The IRS need simply reduce the quality of service and point the finger at the petty GOP.
Everyone who receives poor customer service will now tweet their anger and dislike of Conservatism and the GOP.
Because the GOP acts in such a petty manner, the American public stop seeing it as a party of ideas, but simply see it as the party of petty retribution.
The problem inherent in conservatism is that conservatives do not engage in constructive dialog. Conservatism is an ideology imported from England that builds power through base reaction.
(NOTE: conservatism is the ideology of the Conservative Party of England. The Conservative Party was created in 1834 from the remains Tory Party. The Tories were the people who fought against the US Founders. Conservatism is a fundamental rejection of the ideals at the foundation of this nation.)
Conservatives, apparently, are hoping to use the hatred of the IRS to push through The Fairtax. By intentionally under funding the IRS and preventing it from accomplishing its mission, the GOP hopes to magnify the hatred of the IRS.
But this type of petty partisan maneuvering is obvious. But this politics of retribution and hatred always backfires.
If we want to solve the problems of the day; we simply must come up with a better way than this system ruled by the radical politics of the left and the reactionary politics of the right.
This base system of action and reaction always leads to the worst possible result.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
The Effect of High Sales Taxes on Small Retailers
The FAIR Tax seeks to replace the income tax with a huge federal sales tax. The FAIR Tax is a 23% inclusive tax. It would be a 30% add on tax. If you are in an area with a 10% sales tax, the sales tax would jump to 40%
Huge sales taxes have a negative impact on small locally owned businesses. The video below was made in 1953 by the motion picture industry about the effects of the 20% federal admission tax.
The taxes collected at theaters was six times the profit of American Theaters. The effect of the tax was that 4500 theaters were forced to close. The closures mainly hit small privately owned theaters. This is a video made by the Motion Picture Industry about the effects of the 20% sales tax on the movie theater industry.
Apparently, before the admission tax, most movie theaters were locally owned by people who were involved in their local communities. The theaters were often used as meeting halls and social centers.
Corporate giants like Walmart are likely to thrive with the FAIRTAX. Such businesses make money by processing money. Small mom and pop shops don't have the clout to make money from banking and they are likely to falter when they are forced to collect a sales tax which is several times larger than their profit margin.
Tax reform should be based on a study of the flow of money through the economy and not simply on bombastic claims by the Boortz's and Huckabee's of the world.
Huge sales taxes have a negative impact on small locally owned businesses. The video below was made in 1953 by the motion picture industry about the effects of the 20% federal admission tax.
The taxes collected at theaters was six times the profit of American Theaters. The effect of the tax was that 4500 theaters were forced to close. The closures mainly hit small privately owned theaters. This is a video made by the Motion Picture Industry about the effects of the 20% sales tax on the movie theater industry.
Apparently, before the admission tax, most movie theaters were locally owned by people who were involved in their local communities. The theaters were often used as meeting halls and social centers.
Corporate giants like Walmart are likely to thrive with the FAIRTAX. Such businesses make money by processing money. Small mom and pop shops don't have the clout to make money from banking and they are likely to falter when they are forced to collect a sales tax which is several times larger than their profit margin.
Tax reform should be based on a study of the flow of money through the economy and not simply on bombastic claims by the Boortz's and Huckabee's of the world.
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