Having been nominated by Trump to replace Steve Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary who was fired after his tax reform plan bit the dust in Congress, I now offer the following outline for a revamped income tax system in the United States:
- Income is calculated to include ALL federal, state and local government transfer payments (social security, food stamps, section 8 housing, welfare payments, pensions, student loan forgiveness, investment income, etc.) other than government or private insurance payments like medical benefits. Of course, all other standard income is included ... no exceptions.
- Tax brackets are: 40% (above $1 million), 30% (above $500,000), 20% (above $100,000), 10% (above $50,000) ... below $50,000 EVERYONE must pay $100. These monetary numbers are adjusted yearly for inflation.
- Standard deduction (0nly above $50,000) = 5 percentage points off of the above rates if no itemizing. If itemizing, then the sum total of all deducted items taken of whatever type (dependent credits, carried interest, state and local taxes, mortgage interest, child care, solar panels, investment losses, etc.) is limited to 10 percentage points off of the above rates.
- Eliminate all items that are equivalent to welfare payments which result in a negative income tax (like the earned income tax credit). Everyone should pay at least $100 to the running of our federal government. This goes double for any and all government employees (including Congress).
- Once one's income taxes are paid, such payers receive a receipt from the government which can't be counterfeited and which is required for any future employment, government transfer payments and international travel.
- The business community's tax rate is 20% on ALL internationally-consolidated GAAP net income, NO exceptions. Individuals who try to file as corporations will be executed.
QED
Afterward: The strategy of not outlawing any particular deducation takes the wind out of the sails of all these special interest groups' lobbyists. Congress can say that no particular deduction is eliminated even theough, in toto, they are.
