Paying for the Deficit: "Who or what can you tax more ...." by Ralph Nader

[Better Believe It]

Paying for the Deficit
by Ralph Nader
March 28, 2009

For starters, close the "tax gap" which is defined as the difference between taxes owed and taxes actually paid. This amount is estimated to be $290 billion every year by the IRS. Several thousand more IRS tax collectors will pay for themselves many times over and help preserve some public sense of fairness by those Americans who regularly do pay their taxes. This figure of $290 billion does not include the huge tax shelters and offshore tax havens harboring trillions of dollars from U.S. corporations and very wealthy Americans who do not wish to share onshore tax responsibilities. Some members of Congress, notably Senator Byron Dorgan, want legislation to bring back some revenues from these tax escapees.

Another huge source of revenue, with very little if any fallout on the average taxpayer, would be a Wall Street sales tax on speculative derivatives (not stocks or bonds). With an estimated $500 trillion traded in such bets on bets or bets on debts last year, a 1/10th of 1% sales tax could bring in $500 billion yearly.

A carbon tax would be another important source of revenue to keep the deficit lower and provide incentives to shift faster to energy efficiency and renewable energy such as various kinds of solar and geothermal.

There are other activities that our society as a whole would rather see diminished that can be subjected to increasing taxes. These could include the addictive and gambling industries and anti-social behavior such as corporate crime and fraud. Note that companies do not hesitate imposing "penalties" on consumers for far lesser infractions of their private, one-sided, fine print credit card and other form contracts.

Of course another $300 billion could come to the Treasury if Congress just restored the tax rates on corporate profits that were paid in the relatively prosperous nineteen sixties.

Then there is the reasonable argument that if taxes on "unearned income"-that is dividends and capital gains on investments-should never be lower than the tax on "earned income" by human labor. Well, today, taxes on the former-capital gains and dividends-can be half the rate as income taxes on work. Bringing them closer together could raise more revenue or bring down worker taxes in the process.

Please read the complete at at:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/03/28-3

[drm604]

1. K&R

He has some great suggestions.

[Danger Mouse]

2. Ralph Nader needs to release more hilarious parrot videos.

[FrenchieCat]

3. Nader could barely get any votes,

and yet he ignores what is and what is not politically feasible in the political arena.

"Of course another $300 billion could come to the Treasury if Congress just restored the tax rates on corporate profits that were paid in the relatively prosperous nineteen sixties."

His "of course" nonchalant attitude Proves my point. Great concept he is proposing, but impossible to achieve. A call to the return of taxable rates that go back to the 1960s (nearly 50 years ago), where the rich were taxed at 90 percent or something like that isn't close to realistic, and so the ink goes wasted.

So although it is nice to hear Mr. Nader once again, his proposals as a solution remain politically impossible.....as usual.

But at least he's talking White, just like he says Obama does. So that's good.

[jefferson_dem]

4. Nader used to be cool, back in the day...

Sadly, he's reduced himself to the role of crazy progressive gadfly and his once-great legacy will be forever tarnished. Nader should have learned his lesson after 2000 and gracefully bowed out.

[Peacetrain]

5. When Ralph Nadar took money from the right in 2000, he was offically dead to me..

[LiberalFighter]

6. Just tax Nader more.