Verified Document

Public Budgeting The Idea Of Term Paper

They might spend 100% of their income, which means they would pay a sales tax on all of that money. A wealthy person will spend more in terms of dollars on a sales tax, but will also not spend 100% of his or her income. Some of that income will be saved, meaning that not all of the wealthy person's income will be subject to this tax. For poor people a higher portion of income will be taxed, and there is also less margin for tax increase in their budgets. A wealthy person can afford to pay a little more tax and still have a roof over his or her head, and food on the table. At lower income levels, even a moderate sales tax like 5% is going to put those things at risk. Thus, a sales tax is a particularly regressive plan.

The income tax system is also regressive to some extent, however. Employment income is taxed at a higher rate than investment income. For lower income people, all of their income is in the form of employment income, whereas for higher-income people a large portion of income come from investments, which are often taxed at a lower rate, if it comes in the form of capital gains.

However, it is telling to see where the support for a sales tax as a replacement to the income tax comes from -- mainly from the far right of the political spectrum. Support for tax proposals often reflect...

A small sales tax affects a much lower part of their incomes than the income tax they pay -- even at capital gains rates. To replace the income tax with the sales tax dollar for dollar would put more of the tax burden on lower income people.
Thus overall, while there is some merit to the idea of introducing a sales tax as a means to deal with the deficit, it should be noted that sales taxes are inherently regressive, and that they are not a good idea as far as replacing the income tax. It is also irresponsible to eliminate a major source of revenue in times of huge deficits.

Works Cited:

Investopedia. (2012). Regressive tax. Investopedia. Retrieved November 28, 2012 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regressivetax.asp#axzz2DYg31VBU

McKinnon, J. (2011) Huckabee presses for national sales tax. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 29, 2012 from http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/07/21/huckabee-presses-for-national-sales-tax/

Montgomery, L. (2009). Once considered unthinkable, U.S. sales tax gets fresh look. Washington Post. Retrieved November 29, 2012 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/26/AR2009052602909.html

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited:

Investopedia. (2012). Regressive tax. Investopedia. Retrieved November 28, 2012 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regressivetax.asp#axzz2DYg31VBU

McKinnon, J. (2011) Huckabee presses for national sales tax. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 29, 2012 from http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/07/21/huckabee-presses-for-national-sales-tax/

Montgomery, L. (2009). Once considered unthinkable, U.S. sales tax gets fresh look. Washington Post. Retrieved November 29, 2012 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/26/AR2009052602909.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Public Budgeting Whether It Is
Words: 633 Length: 2 Document Type: Discussion Chapter

According to Fickes, GASB 34 changes traditional government accounting to give the readers of government financial reports a more accurate reading of everything (2002). Private accounting firms do not follow these standards because they are not responsible for being accountable to the taxpayers. Budgeting and Financial Reporting in the Government The government cannot just act as it wishes when it comes to budgeting and financial reporting. For this reason, there is

Public Budgeting There Have Been
Words: 828 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

This demographic understands how investment markets work and is likely to make the smart and responsible choices with these investment funds to ensure that they have a good retirement. The demographic that is least likely to benefit from such a plan is the demographic at the lower end of the income scale, blue collar workers with less education, minorities, new immigrants, and rural people. These demographics are generally less wealthy

Public Budgeting Public Schools Are
Words: 922 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Property tax relief is a subject that arises when the elderly or poor struggle to meet their property tax burdens. If they are long-term residents, they can be caught up when their neighborhood sees a dramatic increase in property values. There are sometimes mechanisms that governments use in order to provide relief. Both tax credits and rebates can be used to help return some of the money paid or that is

Public Budgeting
Words: 6131 Length: 22 Document Type: Research Paper

public budgeting comparisons of the federal, state and local budget distributions. This thesis will be focused on whether or not the increased budget allocations for transportation in the federal, state and local government will enhance travel security, efficiency, performance measures and R&D development in the domain. The thesis will start off with a proposal for an agency that works across and is allocated budget in all the federal, state

Budgets City of Austin's 2007-2008
Words: 1726 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

The departmental and program breakdown of the information in the city of Detroit's budget does not provide quite the same level of detail or of annual change that the city of Austin's budget does, but this more than made up for by the ease of accessing what details are available, and by the different formats of the two cities' budgets almost necessitate these differences in clarity, but they do

Budget Concerns at Beacon College
Words: 1139 Length: 3 Document Type: A2 Coursework

Beacon College, as a small institution, has encountered problems regarding its overall governance standards and accounting oversight. The empirical facts suggest that the entire organization did not have a culture of challenge and innovation. This seems at odds with the overall mandate of the college however. As a liberal arts college, it is by definition innovative and challenging. However, the empirical facts suggest that management was satisfied with the

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now