How America Was Tricked On Tax Policy

How America was Tricked on Tax Policy explains how regular citizens were “tricked” by the outdated view of economists that much heavier taxation of labor rather than capital is economically justifiable. The truth is that workers pay their taxes while the rich pay very little. Based on reputable sources of information, including publications of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), official statistics data, and the publications in high-ranked journals, the book paves the way for a new policy-making process aimed to achieve more sustainable taxation and to increase the wellbeing of citizens as the main goal of any modern state policy. Dealing with critically important and underexplored topics in tax policy, the book challenges an enshrined dogma that is rarely challenged at the level of policy. In doing so, this book envisions policy changes that could be highly impactful in a new political administration. This book proposes that governments should look for not just corporate income tax rate reduction when announcing their tax reforms but should equally focus on the reduction of the overall tax burden on labor. The negative impact and high social cost of wage taxation is exemplified by the key areas of tax policy that are relevant for every wealthy state, such as taking due care of public health, investing in education and wellbeing of children, and supporting small business for the overall benefit to society. The book compellingly argues how tax policy could be improved by incorporating science and scientific methods.

In this well-argued and persuasive book Professor Bogenschneider dismantles much of the dogma of US tax policy. The crux of Bogenschneider's argument is a discussion of 11 deceptions in tax policy ranging from (#1) the idea that tax cuts for the wealthy will cause economic growth, to (#7) the idea that workers don't pay taxes because the income tax rates are progressive, to (#11) the idea that tax cuts for large corporations will cause a decrease in the prices of consumer goods. Notably, the other 8 deceptions not listed are of such significance and worthy of discussion on their own merits and to not mention of them here feels like leaving a suitcase or child behind on the platform in the train station. This intense feeling of the significance and novelty of Bogenschneider's argumentation, and the ease with which it is presented, is an argument to read the book. Perhaps an important further point of introduction is that in the title Bogenschneider refers to the tricking of America, yet make no mistake, this is a book of international tax law and policy.

How the antitax fringe went mainstream—and now threatens America’s future The postwar United States enjoyed large, widely distributed economic rewards—and most Americans accepted that taxes were a reasonable price to pay for living in a society of shared prosperity. Then in 1978 California enacted Proposition 13, a property tax cap that Ronald Reagan hailed as a “second American Revolution,” setting off an antitax, antigovernment wave that has transformed American politics and economic policy. In The Power to Destroy, Michael Graetz tells the story of the antitax movement and how it holds America hostage—undermining the nation’s ability to meet basic needs and fix critical problems. In 1819, Chief Justice John Marshall declared that the power to tax entails “the power to destroy.” But The Power to Destroy argues that tax opponents now wield this destructive power. Attacking the IRS, protecting tax loopholes, and pushing tax cuts from Reagan to Donald Trump, the antitax movement is threatening the nation’s social safety net, increasing inequality, ballooning the national debt, and sapping America’s financial strength. The book chronicles how the movement originated as a fringe enterprise promoted by zealous outsiders using false economic claims and thinly veiled racist rhetoric, and how—abetted by conservative media and Grover Norquist’s “taxpayer protection pledge"—it evolved into a mainstream political force. The important story of how the antitax movement came to dominate and distort politics, and how it impedes rational budgeting, equality, and opportunities, The Power to Destroy is essential reading for understanding American life today.

A critique of federal individual income tax policy, and a proposalfor overhauling the system that will appeal to ordinary citizens, liberalsand conservatives, as well as to experts.

This fast-paced book by Yale professors Michael Graetz and Ian Shapiro unravels the following mystery: How is it that the estate tax, which has been on the books continuously since 1916 and is paid by only the wealthiest two percent of Americans, was repealed in 2001 with broad bipartisan support? The mystery is all the more striking because the repeal was not done in the dead of night, like a congressional pay raise. It came at the end of a multiyear populist campaign launched by a few individuals, and was heralded by its supporters as a signal achievement for Americans who are committed to the work ethic and the American Dream. Graetz and Shapiro conducted wide-ranging interviews with the relevant players: members of congress, senators, staffers from the key committees and the Bush White House, civil servants, think tank and interest group representatives, and many others. The result is a unique portrait of American politics as viewed through the lens of the death tax repeal saga. Graetz and Shapiro brilliantly illuminate the repeal campaign's many fascinating and unexpected turns--particularly the odd end result whereby the repeal is slated to self-destruct a decade after its passage. They show that the stakes in this fight are exceedingly high; the very survival of the long standing American consensus on progressive taxation is being threatened. Graetz and Shapiro's rich narrative reads more like a political drama than a conventional work of scholarship. Yet every page is suffused by their intimate knowledge of the history of the tax code, the transformation of American conservatism over the past three decades, and the wider political implications of battles over tax policy.

As the recent scandal shows, the IRS is big, bad, and out of control. Grover Norquist analyzes the problems within the agency and presents solutions to rein them in. The driving force behind the American Revolution was our forefathers' refusal to accept unfair taxation. Citizens rose up, won a war against impossible odds, and established the most unique government on the face of the earth, with taxes set at about 2 percent. How much has changed since 1776? The strength of Americans resolve is still unrivaled, and Grover Norquist, founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, knows that once liberty-loving Americans learn the truth behind the oppressive and prosperity-stifling taxes we face today, they'll rise up again. Urging his fellow citizens to join him, Norquist tells a powerful and urgent story that will convince you we must act now to END THE IRS BEFORE IT ENDS US.

“The American taxpayer”—angered by government waste and satisfied only with spending cuts—has preoccupied elected officials and political commentators since the Reagan Revolution. But resistance to progressive taxation has older, deeper roots. American Tax Resisters presents the full history of the American anti-tax movement that has defended the pursuit of limited taxes on wealth and battled efforts to secure social justice through income redistribution for the past 150 years. From the Tea Party to the Koch brothers, the major players in today’s anti-tax crusade emerge in Romain Huret’s account as the heirs of a formidable—and far from ephemeral—political movement. Diverse coalitions of Americans have rallied around the flag of tax opposition since the Civil War, their grievances fueled by a determination to defend private life against government intrusion and a steadfast belief in the economic benefits and just rewards of untaxed income. Local tax resisters were actively mobilized by business and corporate interests throughout the early twentieth century, undeterred by such setbacks as the Sixteenth Amendment establishing a federal income tax. Zealously petitioning Congress and chipping at the edges of progressive tax policies, they bequeathed hard-won experience to younger generations of conservatives in their pursuit of laissez-faire capitalism. Capturing the decisive moments in U.S. history when tax resisters convinced a majority of Americans to join their crusade, Romain Huret explains how a once marginal ideology became mainstream, elevating economic success and individual entrepreneurialism over social sacrifice and solidarity.

"Barlett and Steele...are masters at mining obscure documents to see the big picture where most investigators never even knew there was a frame...Year after year, Congress continues to make tax laws more complex and more unfair, then refuses to give the IRS adequate resources to ferret out fraud. If the tax code isn't reformed soon, the authors warn, the consequences might be dire."—Baltimore Sun "A hard-hitting expose of perceived gross inequities in the U.S. tax system."—Publishers Weekly

As politicians from both sides of the political spectrum constantly deluge the citizenry with class warfare idioms and clichés, aided by the media, regarding tax policies, we, the people, continually are told the “rich need to pay their fair share.” Or your favorite politician will tell you they are “working for the common man” or the “working-class family,” “working poor,” or the “middle class” while simultaneously creating tax policies that fail to uphold their stated objectives at best and, at worst, outright lie to the public. The politicians’ desire to be reelected outweigh their desire to be honest, and despite their own personal top 1 percent wealth, they continually tell the public they will write laws to punish these same evil rich people, themselves excluded, of course. This deception and purposeful division must end, argues first-time author James Lewis. Taxation without representation was only one of twenty-seven different grievances outlined by our Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence, but it is the one grievance which has become more egregious, even with representation and is easily provable to anyone who is intellectually honest. It took our government less than four years to begin abusing their new income taxation power afforded them by the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913. Tax policies have changed many times over the past 108 years, radically at times, from nominal single-digit tax brackets to wealth-crushing 94 percent top-end tax brackets affecting only select groups of Americans all the while our politicians claim fairness. Taxation with Representation: A New Evil is a historical, honest, and constitutional look at United States tax policies, their effects, “fairness,” and outcomes and lays bare who is responsible for the class warfare and division in America. This book will actually define the “middle class” (something most elected officials can’t do), reveal who is paying taxes, and demonstrate not only the inherent unfairness of our current progressive tax system but offer solutions which will not only make the system truly fair but will ensure a bright future for our posterity. There are many policy areas where we citizens can share respectful disagreements, but truth and fairness in tax policy is not one of them.

The Interesting History of Income Tax William J. Federer "The only things certain are death and taxes" - Benjamin Franklin Yet few know America's interesting history of Income Tax, such as: *1787 - U.S. Constitution prohibited a "direct" Federal tax *1862 - "Revenue Tax" on incomes went into effect to finance the Union during the Civil War *1895 - Supreme Court made Income Tax unconstitutional *Woodrow Wilson thought tariffs on imports caused wars, so he worked to replace them with an Income Tax. *1913 - Income Tax was only a 1% tax on the top 1% richest people in America. *1943 - Paycheck Withholding began as an emergency effort to get funds to finance WWII. John F. Kennedy - "Lower rates of taxation will stimulate economic activity and so raise the levels of personal and corporate income as to yield within a few years an increased flow of revenues to the Federal Government." (Annual Budget Message, Jan. 17, 1963) Thomas Jefferson - "It is an encouragement to proceed as we have begun in substituting economy for taxation" (2nd Annual Message, 1802) (176 pages, includes pictures)