Kepner Income Tax

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The Kepner Income Tax is an approach to taxation, suggested in the United States, that would collect on a progressive income tax (with no deductions, credits or exemptions) and an estate tax. It would repeal the corporate tax and payroll taxes (including Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA)). [1] All income, from whatever source, would be taxed the same (i.e., whether income from wages, dividends, interest or capital gains). The plan was proposed by Hayden Kepner of the law firm Arnall Golden Gregory. [2] Kepner states that such a tax system would be transparent, easily understandable, could fit on a post-card, and everyone who earns an income would pay taxes. The plan would expand the tax base and he suggests that it would have an incentive to keep federal spending at modest levels (under our current system, approximately 50% pay no income taxes and may not have the incentive to try to keep federal spending in control). The personal income tax would be made up of three progressive rates: 15%, 25%, and 35% (locked together to prevent raising of one rate without raising the others). [1] The estate tax would apply an annual wealth tax of 1-2%, which would be similar to property taxes currently administered at the state level, but would include all property (i.e., stocks, bonds, real property) above a threshold amount.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

A progressive tax is a tax in which the average tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. The term "progressive" refers to the way the tax rate progresses from low to high, with the result that a taxpayer's average tax rate is less than the person's marginal tax rate. The term can be applied to individual taxes or to a tax system as a whole; a year, multi-year, or lifetime. Progressive taxes are imposed in an attempt to reduce the tax incidence of people with a lower ability to pay, as such taxes shift the incidence increasingly to those with a higher ability-to-pay. The opposite of a progressive tax is a regressive tax, where the average tax rate or burden decreases as an individual's ability to pay increases.

An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) that varies with respective income or profits. Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times taxable income. Taxation rates may vary by type or characteristics of the taxpayer.

Contents

Predicted effects

Tax burden visibility

Supporters assert that the proposal would make the cost of federal government visible. Under the current tax system, the federal government collects revenue through a wide variety of taxes on individuals and businesses. Thus the cost of government is spread out among many different avenues and may not be fully visible to individual citizens. [3] For example, corporate taxes and compliance costs are passed partially from producers to final consumers when producers include those costs in the retail price of goods and services. Proponents claim that the Kepner income tax would reduce the "K Street tax lobbyist's" ability to influence legislators to manipulate the U.S. tax code for the benefit of their clients. The plan does not prevent future changes by Congress; however, due to the transparency of the tax, the American people would be aware of changes to the tax base from exemptions because a change in tax rate would likely be reflected. Politicians would have to justify to the American people any tax increase or decrease. In addition, the Kepner tax would remove the use of tax exemptions for corporate welfare.

K Street (Washington, D.C.) major thoroughfare in Washington, D.C.; a metonym for the United States lobbying industry

K Street is a major thoroughfare in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. known as a center for numerous lobbyists and advocacy groups. In political discourse, "K Street" has become a metonym for Washington's lobbying industry since many lobbying firms were traditionally located on the section in Northwest Washington which passes from Georgetown through a portion of downtown D.C. Since the late 1980s, however, many of the largest lobbying firms have moved out; as of 2012, only one of the top-20 lobbying firms has a K Street address.

Lobbying attempting to influence decisions of government officials

Lobbying, persuasion, or interest representation is the act of attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which usually involves direct, face-to-face contact, is done by many types of people, associations and organized groups, including individuals in the private sector, corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or advocacy groups. Lobbyists may be among a legislator's constituencies, meaning a voter or bloc of voters within their electoral district; they may engage in lobbying as a business. Professional lobbyists are people whose business is trying to influence legislation, regulation, or other government decisions, actions, or policies on behalf of a group or individual who hires them. Individuals and nonprofit organizations can also lobby as an act of volunteering or as a small part of their normal job. Governments often define and regulate organized group lobbying that has become influential.

Tax exemption is the monetary exemption of persons, people, property, income, or transactions from taxes that would otherwise be levied on them. Tax-exempt status can provide complete relief from taxes, reduced rates, or tax on only a portion of items. Examples include exemption of charitable organizations from property taxes and income taxes, veterans, and certain cross-border or multi-jurisdictional scenarios.

Effect on international business locality

Global corporations consider local tax structures when making planning and capital investment decisions. Lower corporate tax rates and favorable transfer pricing regulations can induce higher corporate investment in a given locality. Such investment translates into higher economic growth. Ireland's real GDP growth was almost three times higher than the European Union average between 1991 and 2000. During the decade, Ireland taxed corporate profits from manufacturing at 10%, the lowest in the EU. The United States currently has the highest combined statutory corporate income tax rate among OECD countries. [4] The Kepner tax would eliminate the corporate income tax, which supporters argue would make the United States a tax haven and boost the economy.

Ireland Island in north-west Europe, 20th largest in world, politically divided into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (a part of the UK)

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth.

European Union Economic and political union of European states

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. Its members have a combined area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) and an estimated total population of about 513 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. For travel within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.

OECD international economic organisation

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 36 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum of countries describing themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries. As of 2017, the OECD member countries collectively comprised 62.2% of global nominal GDP and 42.8% of global GDP at purchasing power parity. The OECD is an official United Nations observer.

Critique

Critics claim that the Kepner Income Tax system could penalize work and discourage saving and investment. Phil Hinson stated that the Kepner tax would provide many benefits over the current system; however, Hinson argued that the tax rates would need to be higher than the FairTax proposal (often criticized by Kepner), that special interests would manipulate the tax, and that no formal proposal or research exists. [1] The principles of an income tax are also argued by critics. Frank Chodorov wrote "... you come up with the fact that it gives the government a prior lien on all the property produced by its subjects." The government "unashamedly proclaims the doctrine of collectivized wealth. ... That which it does not take is a concession." [5]

Saving income not spent, or deferred consumption

Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. Methods of saving include putting money aside in, for example, a deposit account, a pension account, an investment fund, or as cash. Saving also involves reducing expenditures, such as recurring costs. In terms of personal finance, saving generally specifies low-risk preservation of money, as in a deposit account, versus investment, wherein risk is a lot higher; in economics more broadly, it refers to any income not used for immediate consumption.

To invest is to allocate money in the expectation of some benefit in the future.

In a tax system, the tax rate is the ratio at which a business or person is taxed. There are several methods used to present a tax rate: statutory, average, marginal, and effective. These rates can also be presented using different definitions applied to a tax base: inclusive and exclusive.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Hinson, Phil; Kepner, Hayden (2007-07-08). "Phil Hinson Fair Tax Show". Radio Sandy Springs. Archived from the original on 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  2. ↑ Kepner, Hayden. "Biography". Arnall Golden Gregory. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  3. ↑ Edwards, Chris (2005). Downsizing the Federal Government (Hardcover ed.). Cato Institute. ISBN   1-930865-82-1.
  4. ↑ Hodge, Scott; Atkins, Chris (2005-11-15). "The U.S. Corporate Income Tax System: Once a World Leader, Now A Millstone Around the Neck of American Business". The Tax Foundation. Retrieved 2006-08-03.
  5. ↑ Young, Adam (2004-09-07). "The Origin of the Income Tax". Ludwig von Mises Institute . Retrieved 2007-01-24.

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