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	<title>Tax Help Blog</title>
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	<description>The tax code is too complicated and full of loopholes</description>
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		<title>IRS Help</title>
		<link>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/irs-help/irs-help.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/irs-help/irs-help.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:27:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The Simplifier</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[IRS Help]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/?p=52</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The IRS is a most unhelpful "service." By simplifying the tax code a bit and reengineering how certain things are done, we could make the IRS much more customer friendly, saving the economy hundreds of billions of dollars of time, professional advice, and headaches. We could have the IRS help employers by simplifying payroll tax collection. We could have the IRS help solve problems of pollution, crime, welfare dependency and illegal immigration. True, there are concerns with power and privacy, so weigh the tradeoffs carefully in the proposals that follow in this category.  [...]]]></description>
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		<title>A Flat Tax for Liberals</title>
		<link>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/liberal-flat-tax/a-flat-tax-for-liberals.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/liberal-flat-tax/a-flat-tax-for-liberals.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:24:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The Simplifier</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Liberal Flat Tax]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/?p=50</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Conservatives keep calling for a flat tax. Such a tax would be much simpler to collect and would remove some terrible distortions to the economy. So be it. Give it to them. But if you are a liberal you need not give them the flax tax as currently proposed. We could have a "flat tax" that is more progressive than our current system! It would not be perfectly flat, but neither are the flat tax proposals coming from the Right. In the posts under this category we shall outline a set of fairly simple proposals which boil down to one or two brackets, plus a minimal set of deductions. By merging several taxes together the net result will be progressive and simpler than many proposals from the Right. But perhaps the simplicity of what is to follow will appeal to many on the Right despite its progressive nature. It may be time for ideologues of the Left and Right to band together against the special interests who have polluted our tax code...  [...]]]></description>
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		<title>The Politics of Taxation</title>
		<link>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/tax-politics/the-politics-of-taxation.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/tax-politics/the-politics-of-taxation.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:20:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The Simplifier</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tax Politics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/?p=46</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It is all well and good to be a wonk pontificating from the sideline on how to fix the tax code. It is yet another matter to realistically ask how to put the proposals into action given the current political actors. How can a liberal vote for a flattened tax code? How can a conservative stomach a citizen's dividend or negative income tax? How can a progressive get behind what looks to be a tax cut for big corporations? How can a libertarian raise enough revenue to balance the budget? We will wrestle with these questions here, in the Tax Politics category. We will also expose the lies and half-truths used by politicians and their supporters to get their way, lies which poison public debate and pollute the tax code. All sides are guilty: liberal and conservative, libertarian and progressive. We recognize the overwhelming temptation to bend the truth to play the political game, and intend our criticism to be constructive. Deception makes for bad policy; truth for bad politics. Since we are not running for office, we can take on the burden of unpopularity to get to the truth.  [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Retirement Solutions</title>
		<link>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/retirement-solutions/retirement-solutions.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/retirement-solutions/retirement-solutions.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:27:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The Simplifier</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Retirement Solutions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/?p=38</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Measured in dollars, self-funded retirees are wealthy. It takes real wealth to provide even a moderate income using conservative investments. As such, any tax plan that tries to soak the wealthy is likely to clobber retirees of even moderate income. Conversely, any tax system that allows people to save enough for retirement is likely to provide loopholes for the truly rich. Should we simply expand Social Security to provide a full retirement income even for those in the upper middle class in order to have a more progressive tax system? Or should we go the other way and encourage more people to save for their own retirements? If the latter, how do we protect wage earners from Wall St. vultures? Is independent retirement realistic for the lower classes? Can they handle the ups and downs of the market? Or will we always need Social Security or the equivalent? The answer is: yes, we can have a safe and stable private retirement system. And there are surprisingly liberal reasons for doing so. That said, much needs to be done about Wall St. first. But it is worth doing, because the current pay-as-you-go Social Security system threatens to bankrupt the nation, and it has already ripped of  [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Abolish the Income Tax?</title>
		<link>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/abolishing-the-income-tax/abolish-the-income-tax.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/abolishing-the-income-tax/abolish-the-income-tax.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:24:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The Simplifier</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Abolishing the Income Tax]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/?p=33</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[No more income tax! No more filing! No more government meddling in personal and business affairs! Ah, what a pleasant dream! But not an easy dream to realize, alas. The money has already been spent. Even with drastic cuts in "necessary" government programs, we need high taxes to pay down the debt and pay off the retirees. The income tax may be ugly, unpleasant, and intrusive, but it also works. No other tax is likely to bring in as much revenue. Those who advocate the Fair Tax or the Single Tax as complete replacements stretch credulity. This is not to say their ideas lack any merit. On the contrary, we can learn much from the advocates of these alternative tax systems. Replacing all of our income taxes with either by itself, however, is unrealistic. If we want to do away with the income tax, we'll need multiple replacement taxes and many government spending cuts. For this reason most of this site is devoted to making the income taxes less bad. There, much can be done right away. For the long term let us dream, nonetheless. Let us dream realistically, however, and craft replacements for the income tax that would actually work, work both financially and politically. The replacements must be fair and enforceable, and allow the economy to grow.  [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Capital Gains Taxes</title>
		<link>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/capital-gains/capital-gains-taxes.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/capital-gains/capital-gains-taxes.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:18:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The Simplifier</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Capital Gains]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/?p=29</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When do stock trades cease to be capital gains and become ordinary income? Why make the distinction? Why have the bother of carrying over capital losses year to year allowing a mere $3000/year to be applied against ordinary income? Why should the ultra rich pay a mere 15% for long term capital gains while doctors pay 25% for putting in extra hours healing the sick? The answers aren't always obvious but they are very important. We can simplify the tax code while making it more progressive by treating capital gains the same as ordinary income, but to do so requires making other changes, else the resulting double-taxation will indeed be too onerous. Details in the posts to come.  [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>The Corporate Income Tax</title>
		<link>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/corporate-income-tax/the-corporate-income-tax.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/corporate-income-tax/the-corporate-income-tax.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:16:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The Simplifier</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Corporate Income Tax]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/?p=26</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[How should corporations be taxed? How do we tax corporations without destroying America's competitiveness in international markets? How do we tax multinationals? Which nation gets to tax the profits of a corporation operating in twenty countries? Should we even tax corporations? Or is this double taxation? The answers will surprise many. We shall explore reasons why progressives should support cuts in corporate income taxes, and why Republican flat taxers might want to increase corporate income taxes. And we shall show why we need to maintain a corporate income tax at some rate as long as we have a personal income tax. If these ideas seem not obvious to you, you are not alone. Stay tuned for thorough explanations.  [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/corporate-income-tax/the-corporate-income-tax.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Personal Deductions</title>
		<link>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/personal-deductions/personal-deductions.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/personal-deductions/personal-deductions.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:13:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The Simplifier</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Personal Deductions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heading]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/?p=21</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The personal income tax is a maze of twisty passages, all different. Those who navigate the maze successfully get big tax breaks. The rest pay the nominal tax rate. Is this fair? Or is the personal income tax a subsidy for the super rich in disguise? The answer is mixed; the analysis subtle. Many deductions offset the effects of others. Some cause hidden detriment, visible only to those with economic insight. Read the posts in this category and gain said insight for yourself. Learn the truly destructive nature of some of the most popular tax breaks if you dare. The tax code is more responsible for the current economic crisis than most people realize.  [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/personal-deductions/personal-deductions.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Time for More Taxes</title>
		<link>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/tax-rates/time-for-more-taxes.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/tax-rates/time-for-more-taxes.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:06:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The Simplifier</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[tax rates]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.taxhelpusa.org/blog/?p=4</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Want a tax cut? Too bad! The federal government racked up nearly $1.8 trillion in additional public debt in fiscal year 2009! Elect a hundred Ron Paul clones to Congress to hack at least a trillion in core government spending and you can dream of a tax cut. The economy might start growing again. One-time stimuli might end. So it might "only" take a trillion dollar cut in core spending to bring the budget into balance. But frankly, you should just dream. 100 Ron Paul clones are not likely to win in 2010, and even if they did win and cut the core budget by a trillion, we still should keep taxes high or even raise them. The baby boomer generation is preparing to retire. We should have been paying down the national debt for the past two decades in order to prepare for this actuarial nightmare. Instead, we've gotten an optional war in Iraq, new entitlements and tax cuts for the rich. We need huge budgets surpluses now to catch up -- unless you like the prospect of financial collapse and Atlas shrugging.  [...]]]></description>
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