Two-fer Friday

Tax Day has come and gone, thank heavens. April 15th is always a reminder how unfair and maddening our tax system has become. A simple way to raise revenue has turned into a yearly nightmare for one and all, at least for those of us who comply and actually file and pay our taxes.

The other 50% of Americans don't pay taxes but still get a vote, a say in how our government runs; they are probably pretty happy with the state of how the system works. All I can say to them is this--don't work harder, don't excel at what you do, don't try to make a better life for your family. If you increase your income to a level where you can breathe and can start to buy things for your family, and maybe save a little money for retirement, watch out. Watch out for the hand of Uncle Sam. He will be lurking and swooping in to take your hard earned money like a pick pocket; before you know it, your bank account will look like it did before you increased your income yet you will have worked harder for it. You will have nothing extra to show for it other than an IRS "taxes due" bill on April 15th. Oh and by the way, Congratulations! You will now be considered "wealthy" in America.

The system in which the IRS operates is so complicated that many IRS agents give out incorrect information on their own 1-800 telephone help lines (per a John Stossel investigative report on the topic). If they can't understand the thousands of tax laws on the books, how is the average American to understand it, file their taxes, and do it correctly? There are so many, many loopholes and deductions that it seems the more money you make, the more you can afford expensive accountants that know where these loopholes are and can reduce your taxable income by using them. Some of these methods are on the outer fringes of legality, but most people really don't care. The horrible system we have has created a nation of many tax cheats, people that refuse to file taxes at all. There was a list on a popular website of celebrities that owe the IRS over $1,000,000 in back taxes. Most were big names that had the money to pay, too. They are so out in the open, yet they flaunt their status as tax evaders. Something is wrong with this picture.

I could really get behind a total complete change in the way the US collects tax revenue from the citizens. I think that either a simple flat tax of a certain percentage of your income -deducted right at the time you get your paycheck, would completely simplify it all. There would be no need for an IRS, or filing taxes, or any deductions, exemptions, tax shelters, etc. Just take 10% (or whatever designated percent they come up with) off the top of every one's income and that is that. There would be no more loopholes, no more offshore accounts, no more hiding your money.

The other option to simplify this is a type of consumption tax. No more taxes based on income. That is too arbitrary. It is hard to say where to draw the line as to who pays and who doesn't have to pay. A consumption tax would focus on what we all buy, instead of how much we earn. The more stuff and the more expensive stuff you buy, the more consumption (or value added, as it is called) tax you would end up paying. That would mean that every single item you buy would include a value added tax in it's price or at the register. Then you are done. No tax filing, no payroll deductions. You earn what you earn. This system would discourage people on welfare and other entitlement programs from buying some of the items they could not afford, like cigarettes, and alcohol and focus on buying food and paying rent. This would tax the uber wealthy on luxury cars, high rise apartment buildings, private jets, vacation homes. If you were uber wealthy and you didn't like the value added tax, you could just stop buying so much expensive stuff!! It is very simple. It could go a long way to teaching people to live within their means. It would be in your hands how much tax you paid every week. And think of all the IRS salaries we would not have to pay. That would save the government millions, perhaps billions of dollars every year.

I think that it will take a lot longer for our government to come to this conclusion however. They are too stuck in this groove of tax, spend, spend, spend, raise taxes, spend, spend, spend, spend, raise taxes, raise taxes, dump 50% of the population off the tax rolls, tax the "rich" spend, spend, yada, yada, yada, spend. I am not sure how it will change or when it will change.

I do our taxes most years with Turbo Tax. It costs me $40-$50 to buy the software to file the taxes to find out how much MORE money we have to send the government. They should be paying for my software! They are the ones that want me to file this despicable form. I pay my taxes, and on time too!

On a similarly frustrating topic, the local government in my town of Franklin is in deep financial trouble, yet again. I have lived here for 15 years, and every single year there has been a "fiscal crisis." Many times, the town council has asked the taxpayers to allow for a proposition 2 1/2 override in order to increase our property tax more than the allowable percentage. The override has only passed once since I have lived here and that was to build and remodel a couple of schools. The yearly fiscal crisis always seems to abate and staff cuts are made, teachers are let go, programs are done away with. Yet despite our continuing financial crises other things happen in town that boggle the mind. I know that these programs have different funding sources, but the populace has no idea, and perception is reality to most of us.

In the last cycle of an attempted prop 2 1/2 override, when the town council was asking for several million dollars, telling us we had no money to level fund the schools, all of a sudden, a beautiful new $6 million dollar Senior Center was built. The perception is that- we had the money all along -see, they built the senior center. This is just one example of many where what goes on in our town seems to be a program of smoke and mirrors.

The latest threat is that unless there is an 2 1/2 override, all school athletics and after school programs will be eliminated. This threat has proceeded in a neighboring town, Mansfield. Eliminating these programs may happen, but the real fact here is that the teachers and town workers unions don't want to give up their sweet package of salaries, pensions, tenure, and benefits and be compelled to go on the state sponsored health care plan which they would have to contribute significantly more out of pocket for. This is what is crippling our town and many towns both around us and around the country.

Health care costs and towns continuing to have to pay pensions and benefits for life are crippling town budgets, plain and simple. In almost no other walk of public life, except maybe the military and high level government employees, do we see pensions continue for life. That does not exists any more in our world. Nobody can afford it. And to have to keep paying for health care for people who have retired from the system is another black hole that is costing us dearly.

Something has got to give here and again, I am not sure what it will take for everyone to be willing to make the necessary changes. Unions are not necessary in 2010 for non manufacturing jobs. There are no inherent safety and health issues working in town hall or in one of the public schools. Salaries should be based on MERIT, not tenure or some predetermined pay scale. Teachers and other town employees that don't perform well need to be fired, not reassigned to other schools or departments.

Between the IRS and the teachers unions, we are being royally ripped off and screwed. My property taxes have almost doubled in 15 years. We pay dearly for what we get and it is being squandered in ways in need not be. It feels like everyone has their hand in your pocket and you don't get a say as to how they spend what they confiscate from you.

Fear not, although it might feel that way, we are not helpless here. We can all vote; we can tell our governments, both local and federal what we want and what we don't want by who we elect. Scott Brown's election was no accident here. We all wanted the "Old Boys" network in Washington to be put on notice. Disregard our wishes at your own peril. We sent you there-both in Franklin and to Washington, to do what we want you to do. If you don't do it, we will remove you and send someone who will. Period.

In that vein, I hope the basic fundamentals of the Tea Party Movement create a giant ripple for change across the USA -change to get our priorities back on track to where we hope our country will be in 10 years, in 50 years. Change so our children can grow up and live in a country we recognize.

On that note, I step down from my soap box :-)