Time For Change?
One of the problems that has always plagued us is the clear disconnect between taxation and electoral responsibility for those who legally raise them. It’s not accidental that Tax Day is April 15th, a full six months before election day. I want Americans to hold elected representatives responsible for the fiscal condition of the country, and the taxes that condition will naturally necessitate. Since our Federal elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even years, I think we should move tax day to the first Monday in November. The truth is that for quarterly filers, this won’t make so large a difference, and in the main, it would seem a symbolic measure, but I think that it’s a worthy symbol. After all, many voters go to the polls thinking about what they want, but for a change, I think it would be better if when they start marking their ballots, they instead should be thinking about the costs.
Of course, this presents another problem that needs to be reformed. For some of those voters, the day they file their tax return is an occasion for celebration rather than a day of mourning. Some of that is because a fair number of people over-withhold throughout the year in order to avoid getting hit with a big tax bill, but more of it is because some people get refunds in excess of what they had withheld in income taxes altogether. You might ask yourself how it is possible that one can receive a refund higher than one has paid in, but Congress has an answer: The Earned Income Tax Credit. Effectively, all you need to do is earn a minimal amount of income. It doesn’t take much income to qualify, and then you are eligible to receive a credit that may be more(and usually is) than the amount of income taxes you’ve had withheld.
One of the constant scams is people who receive various welfare benefits will work a couple of months out of the year, at a low wage job or two, and this will be enough “earned income” to make them eligible for free money. Some recipients actually refer to it as their “IRS Bonus check.” I kid you not. This program is also why we have 47% of tax return filers who pay no net income taxes. For this segment of the population, there is no stigma attached to tax day, because for them, by the time April 15th rolls around, they’ve long since submitted their returns, gotten their refunds including their credit, and they’ve spent it.
Some of you will doubtless think I’m joking, or that I have somehow concocted this as some sort of literary device, but I assure you that it is real, and that like so many extensions of the welfare state, it acts as a disincentive to work. Therefore, along with moving tax day, I submit that we make another law: No tax refunds of any ind in excess of what has been withheld. It’s contrary to the notion of welfare as a hand up, and it’s opposed to the notion of the tax code as a program to raise federal revenues. So long as we’re stuck with the 16th Amendment and the grotesque tax system it birthed, nobody should be receiving money as a net gain from the system of taxation, and besides: We’re constantly reminded that everyone should have some skin in the game. I think that’s true, but when I say “everyone,” I actually mean it. Combining these two reforms as one single step will cause more serious evaluations of candidates by voters. If we’re going to save the country, it’s one more thing in the laundry list that we’ll need to fix.
