Who's Taxed?
The american working class
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Overall, the great majority of the people who are stuck paying the income tax are America's middle and lower classes. The US Tax codes are hundreds of pages long, and are mostly full of legal jargon that no one understands. That is, no average US tax-paying citizen. So, many people are not able to take advantage of reductions or other tax cuts they might be eligible for. Many businesses, especially the small businesses, also pay large amounts. Having the wealthy and the corporations pay a larger amount of tax is the purpose of the graduated income tax.
Who Benefits?
The "exceptions"
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But because of the multiple loopholes and exceptions in the tax laws, many of the wealthy individuals and larger companies can hire lawyers that help them find ways to cut back significantly on their taxes. The result is that the great majority of US citizens are forced to give up money that they have worked for, while others sit comfortably on their own earnings. Large businesses, the supposed foundation of the graduated income tax revenue, are the very ones that know how to cheat the system, the ones that know how to play the game.
Those who don't pay
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Obviously, if you don't pay the taxes, but you live in the US, you will still receive all the benefits produced by others' taxes. Since the income tax system only taxes income, many people like, illegal immigrants, criminals and others who are paid undocumented cash, don't have to pay these taxes. Yet these people still benefit from the public services that federal taxes help fund.
How is this an injustice?
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Plato: "Where there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income" (Tax Quotes).
Article twenty-three, section two of the United Nations Declaration of Universal Human Rights states this, "Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work" (United Nations Declaration). Under the income tax system a more wealthy man is able to receive nearly all of his income, while an average, middle class worker, will only receive a portion of his. The current income tax system is discriminatory against the middle and lower classes because it allows the wealthy to be exempt from much tax, while forcing the wage-earning worker to pay full taxes.
Our tax system is also unjust because it helps fund the welfare program that thousands of Americans abuse by living solely on government support. In addition, every year thousands of dollars are lost to income tax fraud. The exact numbers are unknown, but by 2005 it was "estimated that the United States had a tax deficit of approximately $345 billion that it will never collect" (Tax Evasion Statistics). Going after the evaders is just too costly. Not only does this system lose much money to tax evaders, but it is also unnecessarily time consuming and complicated, with hundreds of tax forms and regulations. April 15, the income tax completion deadline, has become a national day of fear, as thousands of people struggle to finish their tax forms. It is estimated "that Americans will pay an astounding $300 billion[...] in tax preparation costs [this year]" just to avoid this stressful rush (Hoagland).
Article twenty-three, section two of the United Nations Declaration of Universal Human Rights states this, "Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work" (United Nations Declaration). Under the income tax system a more wealthy man is able to receive nearly all of his income, while an average, middle class worker, will only receive a portion of his. The current income tax system is discriminatory against the middle and lower classes because it allows the wealthy to be exempt from much tax, while forcing the wage-earning worker to pay full taxes.
Our tax system is also unjust because it helps fund the welfare program that thousands of Americans abuse by living solely on government support. In addition, every year thousands of dollars are lost to income tax fraud. The exact numbers are unknown, but by 2005 it was "estimated that the United States had a tax deficit of approximately $345 billion that it will never collect" (Tax Evasion Statistics). Going after the evaders is just too costly. Not only does this system lose much money to tax evaders, but it is also unnecessarily time consuming and complicated, with hundreds of tax forms and regulations. April 15, the income tax completion deadline, has become a national day of fear, as thousands of people struggle to finish their tax forms. It is estimated "that Americans will pay an astounding $300 billion[...] in tax preparation costs [this year]" just to avoid this stressful rush (Hoagland).