TaxWeek: Be thankful I don’t take it all
“Our tax system is a voluntary tax system.” - Senator Harry Reid (D, NV)
“If you drive a car - I’ll tax the street;
if you try to sit - I’ll tax your seat;
if you get too cold - I’ll tax the heat;
if you take a walk - I’ll tax your feet.” ~the Beatles.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:19 am
So do you not believe that our tax system is voluntary? I thought that Senator Reid did a good job of explaining what voluntary means. It means that people are free to arrange their financial affairs in such a way to take advantage of any tax benefits. Voluntary does not mean that the tax laws don’t apply to you. Voluntary means you can choose to pay less taxes by managing your finances in a way to minimize your taxes.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Oh, it’s voluntary in the way that he described it.
But it doesn’t feel voluntary when I will be punished for not voluntarily submitting my tax obligation.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Do you know of any tax system that is voluntary in that sense? I can’t…
April 14th, 2008 at 10:44 am
No. Probablly not.
The problem I have with Reid’s assessment is that we don’t talk about the two kinds of taxes accurately: direct and indirect taxes.
Indirect taxes are avoidable, and thus voluntary. They are sales taxes and the like.
Direct taxes (originally requiring apportionment among the states), are unavoidable. You can’t avoid them.
So the further question is whether or not the “Income Tax” (26 USCA Subtitle A) is a direct or indirect tax.
If it is a direct tax, then it cannot be called voluntary because it is unavoidable. Yes, you can manager your money to “avoid” taxes (which is legal), but you can’t evade taxes (which is illegal). If you can’t evade the tax then it isn’t really voluntary in my mind.