Taxes Made Equitable

It is tax time. Do I hear the appropriate groans and mumbles?

Well, as I've said in several posts, I support fair and equitable taxes. Taxes are the dues we pay to live in a civilized society. They pay for our police officers; for our public education; for our roads, bridges and highways. They pay for all of the things that people ignore when they're complaining about taxes.

Here are a few things to consider to make our taxes fair and equitable taxes.

1. Close the "tax gap" which is defined as the difference between taxes owed and taxes actually paid. Earnings: $290 billion annually.

2. Eliminate the huge tax shelters and off-shore tax havens harboring trillions of dollars from U.S. corporations and very wealthy Americans who do not wish to share on-shore tax responsibilities. Earnings: $300 billion annually.

3. Implement a 1/10th of 1% Wall Street sales tax on speculative derivatives (not stocks or bonds). Earnings: $500 billion annually.

4. Restore the tax rates on corporate profits that were paid in the relatively prosperous nineteen sixties. Earnings: $300 billion annually.

5. 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. Why should a teacher pay a higher tax rate than a multi-millionaire does on capital gains?

6. A carbon tax would be another important source of revenue, with the added incentives to shift faster to energy efficiency and renewable energy such as various kinds of solar and geothermal.

So as you complain (or hear complaints) about tax season, know there are solutions and alternatives.

But those people in government, who are supposed to represent We the People, will bring none of them to pass.