Brief History of Taxing in the United States

3332 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The essence of the American dream

Many ponder the idea of federal taxes and whether the wealthy deserve to pay a higher percentage rate of their overall income. That is, they argue that because our society needs more equality and a lower national budget deficit, taxes on the rich must be raised. This specific topic has been discussed for decades, and due to the severely different perspectives, it is unclear whether the two sides will ever come to an agreement. President Barack Obama and much of the Democratic Party strongly lean towards raising taxes on the rich, while the conservatives and the Republican Party heavily lean towards a more balanced flat tax. However, after extensive research and focus on what would be best for the equality of individuals, the nation and its economy, this paper will firmly prove that the top one percent should not be taxed any more than they are today.
Directly off of the IRS Federal Government website, the 2014 United States Federal Income Tax Rates are as follows. The top one percent for single filing pays $118,118.75 plus thirty-nine point six percent on taxable income over $406,750. The top one percent for married filing jointly pays $127,962.50 plus thirty-nine point six percent on taxable income over $457,600. The top one percent for married filing separately pays $63,981.25 plus thirty-nine point six percent on taxable income over $228,800. The top one percent for head of household filing pays $123,424.00 plus thirty-nine point six percent on taxable income over $432,200. (1)
Taxing in the United States was originally put in place to raise money for war efforts in the early 1800s. The country needed training, supplies, transportation, artillery, nurses, and soldiers, and so collecting money from within was the onl...

... middle of paper ...

...o charities and health centers. The government should look to possibly allow for taxpayers to decide what happens with their money. Again, if the country truly wants to cut the budget deficit, it starts with removing some of the middle class benefits for which the wealthy are already struggling to pay. To raise taxes on the rich will only stunt economic growth and cut jobs, which are two key components to having a prosperous country. Success and development within a nation strictly comes from the power and wealth of the economy and the integrity of earning and deserving what one puts in through hard work. The United States lives by the American Dream, and as long as this drives the majority of individuals, there is no logical reason to take more than what is necessary, especially from the ones who have taken advantage of the opportunity the best.

Show More
Related

  • Soame Jenyns Taxes Debate

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    Taxes. We hate to love them and love to hate them. The mere mention of the word can stir heated debates and has done so for centuries. None was more prevalent than during colony times. During this time, on one side was the British Parliament while on the other side were the colonists, both arguing, either verbally or in written text, about which side did or did not have the right to tax the colonies. Soame Jenyns was one of these men who sided with the mother country in the tax debate.

    Read More

  • Taxes By Soame Jenyns Summary

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    Taxes. We hate to love them and love to hate them. The mere mention of the word can stir heated debates and has done so for centuries. None were more prevalent than during colonial times. During this time, with the British Parliament on one side and the colonists on the other, both argued, either verbally or in written text, about which side did or did not have the right to tax the colonies. Soame Jenyns was one of these men who sided with the mother country in the tax debate.

    Read More

  • America's Tax System: Flat or Fair?

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    Our current system of taxation is a varied rate percentage based on different income brackets. Many say that it violates our constitutional rights through unequal taxation. Multiple deductions, loopholes, special rates, and a complex system of regulations all characterize our Federal Income Tax System, prompting many to question why it is still being used (Peters, 2013). The current system although bringing in over $3 trillion, taxes income multiple times, and includes the taxing of estate, labor, savings, and investments (National Priorities Project, 2013). The system itself is complex with over 20,000 pages of regulations, requiring a massive filing system, which is set up and maintained by an even larger IRS, requiring over $225 billion in compliance costs (Hall, 2001). One can be hard pressed to find an advantage in the current system, other than the fact that it provides the government with an enormous amount of funds, and it has...

    Read More

  • The Currency Act Caused the American Revolution

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    Paper money that was issued by the colonial government was a concern. Certain paper money could only be used for paying public debts, including military supplies or taxe...

    Read More

  • Theodore Roosevelt New Nationalism

    1295 Words  | 3 Pages

    New Nationalism focused on eradicating economic inequality. In 2007, the top 1 percent of Americans owned 23.5 percent of the nation’s wealth (Pear, 2011). This problem has increased, not gone away, since Roosevelt addressed it in 1910. Unfairness in the tax code has become a prominent topic of political discussion. President Obama called for alterations to the U.S. tax system, which allows millionaires to pay lower rates than middle-class workers like teachers and firefighters, in his 2012 State of the Union address (“Remarks of President Barack Obama – As prepared for delivery State of the Union Address,” 2012.). In December, the president traveled to Osawatomie to speak. He echoed Roosevelt’s New Nationalism, saying he believes “this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share” (Fox, 2011). Although he spoke in Os...

    Read More

  • Income Inequality in the United States

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    The top 10 percent, and even more so the top 1% , are going through increases in income expon...

    Read More

  • Inequality And Wealth Inequality

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    Krugman points out how despite the obvious and ever growing gap between the rich and middle class in terms of wealth increase, Republicans tend to vote for tax cuts for the rich and for decreases in funding for programs that benefit the middle and lower classes of society, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Cutting funds for these services puts the middle and lower classes at even more of a disadvantage than they already were. Meanwhile, the rich receiving more tax cuts means they receive more money, furthering the economic wealth gap and increasing the money they can spend to influence politics. Krugman suggests the solution to the problem is increasing taxes on the

    Read More

  • Income Inequality in the United States

    3100 Words  | 7 Pages

    ...nited States has been changing over the time. It also provides historical tables. The first table shows that pre-tax income of top 1 percent had more than doubled between 1976 and 2008. And the other table shows that from 1979 to 2009, the top 5% had large increase in real income, while the bottom 20% saw a decrease in real income.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography: Tax Reform

    465 Words  | 1 Pages

    Republicans oppose raising taxes on those who earned over $250,000. this does not mean republicans do not believe in focusing relief on the middle and lower classes because they do, but, believe in relief for all Americans, and not just strictly taxing the upper class.

    Read More

  • Exploring Progressive Tax Systems: The U.S. Perspective

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Does the tax-spending system in the United States redistribute resources from higher-income earners to lower-income earners?

    Read More

  • The Evident and Growing Wealth Gap in the US

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    Adding to this is the notion that the “richer are getting richer and the poor, poorer.” (Reich). When the income of the middle and lower class is either the same or shrinking while the income of the upper class is improving, the wealth gap is evident (Scott). What illustrates this is that today the 10% of richest Americans hold 40% of all the wealth in the U.S. (Scott). Another aspect of the wealthiest staying wealthy is the ability to pass down their wealth; otherwise known as inheritance. Even with estate taxes, the wealthy still manage to find loopholes where they don’t have to pay as much, or even at all. In other words, “lower income people pay a greater share of their income sales and payroll taxes than higher-income people” (Henchman). In America, the wealthy are being favored while everyone else has to pay.

    Read More

  • Essay On Colonial Taxes

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout early American history, England had a strong hold on the development of a new country. Because of this, England saw they could tax the colonies on everyday items. On March 22, 1765, the British Parliament passed what was called the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act taxed the colonies on any item made from printed paper: ranging from newspaper, to legal documents, and even something like playing cards. The money that was used to pay the taxes went to the costs of defending and keeping safe the American frontier close to the Appalachian Mountains during the seven year's war. However the cost of the tax was fairly small. Previously, taxes on colonial deals had always been seen as a way to control commerce, and not to raise funds. Colonists

    Read More

  • Income Inequality

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The income gap in America has been increasing steadily since the late 1970’s, and has now reached historic highs not seen since the 1920’s (Desilver). UC Berkeley economics professor, Emmanuel Saez conducted extensive research on past and present income inequality statistics and published them in his report “Striking it Richer.” Saez claims that changes in technology, tax policies, labor unions, corporate benefits, and social norms have caused income inequality. He stands to advocate a change in American economic policies that will help close this inequality gap and considers institutional and tax reforms that should be developed to counter it. Although Saez’s provides legitimate causes of income inequality, I highly disagree with the thought of making changes to end income inequality. In any diverse economic environment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. I believe income inequality e...

    Read More

  • The Flat Tax

    482 Words  | 1 Pages

    Taxation has always been a major controversy. Just like any major corporation, the government is constantly looking to raise revenue. The easiest and fairest way to do this is by taxing the people. However, how the people will be taxed is always an issue.

    Read More

  • Government Spending versus Tax Cuts: How Best to Stimulate Growth?

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    In our opinion government spending is better than tax cuts. Government spending increases the employment as well as the income of the people of the country, though tax cut only increases the wealth of the people who may not spend the extra money earned and help in the growth of the economy.

    Read More

More about Brief History of Taxing in the United States

Open Document