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Should Federal taxes be abolished? A thing we can always hear is people whining about “taxes”. Some people think they are unnecessary. others think they’re extremely high and others are okay with them but still, taxation is a controversial subject: there’s a lot of different opinions about It. The United States has always had to deal with taxes. Even when the country was composed by only 13 colonies under British rule, taxes and tariffs have always been a part of America’s economy and its government. There’s different types of taxes including the income tax, property tax, sales tax and estate – gift tax.
These entioned are handled either by the federal government or state – local government, making the rates of some of them different depending the location. After gaining independence from England, the US did use taxation with tarffs, poll taxes and to fund wars such as the clvll war back in the 1860’s, but what made taxation a permanent policy was the 16th amendment ratified In 1913. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on Incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration_l This amendment was created after the declslon made In Pollock v.
Farmers Loan court case where the supreme court considered Income taxes enforced by the Income Tax Act of 1894 to be direct taxes and therefore, unconstitutional by failing to follow the apportionment rule. After it was ratified, the Congress was able to collect direct taxes without having to use a census or the apportionment rule. With the total ratification of Income tax, started the debate between the americans who didnt agree with the taxation and the govt followers that accepted it. That argument has created controversies In the supreme court of the united stated making this issue constantly talked about.
On one side, a lot of amerlcans argue that income taxes are a violation to the Constitution and its Amendments and refuse to pay the money they supposudely owe giving some of the following arguments: I Amendment: Many consider that the government makes kind of a -exception” for the official members of religious entitys, letting them evade taxes that they’re supposed to pay and making of it a discriminatory situation for others who are not part of those “committees”. That statement is wrong, because the goverment doesnt forbid them from paying their taxes.
They do make some special taxes for the institution but not for the people in harge, V Amendment: Under this argument a court case came out: 3rushaber v, Union Pacific Railroad, where Frank R. Brushaber sued the Union Pacific Railroad Company to avoid paying taxes. He believed it was a violation to the fifth amendment, because they were taking away their property and also there wasnt a correct process of It under the law. This arguments were rejected by the supreme court staung that because of the 16th Amendment it wasnt necesary to do a census or a the company or the person received from their labor.
Another argument some people use is that it might be self-incriminatory to fill an income tax return for someone who as criminal records, taking away their right to freedom and life. For some americans, income taxes “encourage illegal behavior” by making them lie about their real income, avoiding the payment or Just simply lower their life standard by making them get a Job where they pay with cash instead of check even if its minimum wage. The argument against this is that no matter what, people will always try to avoid paying taxes whether is an income tax or a sales tax.
The only thing the government should do is create greater punishments for those who completely avoid paying taxes and giving more benefits for those who do pay their taxes. Just as we have Americans against taxes, there’s another group who’s for the tariffs and support the idea of having this duty. Unlike some people beliefs, a drastic cut in taxes wouldn’t have a relation with the economic growth of the country or state, on the contrary “States with the highest income tax rates have seen more economic growth per capita and less decline in their median income level than the states that do not tax income. 2 Also if the government decides to cut down the tariffs it would have a big impact on the financial capacity of the states in case of a recession, they wouldn’t have funds to survive it. Our tax system is progressive, the rate increases with the more you gain. A lot of people argue that it would be more fair for everyone if we Just simply cut the income tax and started depending on the sales tax, but then if “you eliminate the income tax system, it effectively eliminates the ability of governments to redistribute wealth”3.
In other words, we would all end up paying the same amount even if we get paid less than others, or vice versa. One of the biggest consequences of a tax cut would be the decrease of social programs and public services. Public schools, police, firemen, public transportation, tc. all make a part of the expenses that the government covers with the capital from taxes, and if those duties are Just cut down, Americans depending on some of those programs would suffer the major consequences.
Also, the maintenance of things such as the highways wouldn’t be possible if there’s not money from the citizens. Finally, a big argument is that if now the majority of Americans are not -comfortable- with paying a certain amount of money of the income tax because they feel is too high, when they cut it down (in example) the probability of sales tax and property tax going up is too high. They need a balance, they Just cant stop receiving money from the people so they need to higher something in order to keep an “order”.
I consider that the taxation strategy and its fiscal policy in the collection of taxes is accerted because with the capital that they get from us they can develop some services such as the construction of roads and sidewalks along with their maintenance. Also we can say that those Americans who need extra help with their economy are the first benefactors of some programs and benefits like food stamps, federal aid to pay college, medicaid, etc. In a way we’re helping our fellow citizen, and t makes the country stronger by developing some kind of union between the citizens. ourse there’s a lot of people who avoid taxes, but generally compared to less- developed countries, this is a great example of how things should be. America give us everything, if you don’t have enough money to pay an specialist with your medicaid you can pay Just a little amount of money and get a great doctor to attend you. Also, as an American Citizen you’re allowed to apply for a low-income rent if you’re struggling with your economy. There’s a lot of benefits from the social security, but someone has to pay for it.
That’s where taxes come, it is necessary to keep a good level of life for everyone in the country. On the other hand, in cities like New York where the public transport has such a high demand is necessary to keep the service in a good “status”. NYC government does a terrific work keeping the subway in great conditions, in order to transport millions of people daily across the city, and also the highways are always in good conditions so there’s less traffic considering the amount of cars that there are in this city. Public services such as the police and the firemen, all come from our taxes.
We eed to pay for those services because the city, and the country would be a complete chaos without someone constantly making sure people are following the rules. Who’s going to pay them to take care of us if we stop paying taxes? We could say that it might not be the greatest thing in the world to pay from our work, but is necessary if we want to keep this country the way it is now. A nation full of prosperity.