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Taxes: Uncle Sam wants your suggestions
Totally fed up with taxes now? Here are some ideas for reform you may not have heard of.
April 15, 2005: 2:41 PM EDT
By Krysten Crawford, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Finished with taxes and feeling the urge to vent?

Now's your chance. The bipartisan tax reform panel that President Bush established earlier this year wants ideas not just from the experts, but also from you.

To date the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform has received more than 2,000 comments from the public, most of which are posted online.

When it comes to taxes, it appears that everybody is a critic.

A highly unscientific review of the panel's Web site reveals an array of opinions on what's broken and how the code should be fixed. They come from tax cheats, grandmothers, lawyers, retired politicians, gays, funeral directors and, yes, even priests.

Many submissions favor mainstream proposals, such as a national retail sales tax or overhauling the controversial Alternative Minimum Tax. Libertarians resurrect their longstanding argument that income taxes are unconstitutional and, as a result, strictly voluntary.

While the debate is considerable, there's one consensus: panel members face a daunting task as their July 31 deadline approaches for submitting a reform plan.

Some taxpayers promise to pray for the panel. Others volunteer to help. Still more warn of a modern-day Boston Tea Party should the reform effort fail.

"Can't we all just get along?" implored a taxpayer named August. He supports a revamped code that taxes spending, not income.

In that good-natured spirit, here's a look at some of the more novel ideas.

  • Sounds simple enough "The government can have the Federal Reserve PRINT out as much money as it needs for whatever reason. So why taxes at all?"
  • Stop fiddling! The tax code wouldn't be such a headache if Congress would just stop messing with it every year. Under this proposal, Congress and the White House would have one six-month window every four years to change the code -- and that's it.
  • Cut 'em some slack Help the young build some earning power. Nobody pays income taxes before the age of 18 and, until 23, pay only a portion of income taxes.
  • End April 15 madness Instead of one due date for all, stagger the filing deadlines for individuals throughout the year based on the first letter of last names.
  • The price of real estate It's more expensive to live in New York City than Nashville. Adjust tax rates to factor in cost-of-living differences.
  • Make advertisers pay Whether it's television, newspapers, product logos, junk mail or road signs, consumers are bombarded with ads everyday. Forty thousand cars pass a billboard in a day? Levy a "per view" tax on all advertising.
  • Sweat the small stuff "The Internal Revenue Service needs to clearly (no vagueness please) indicate the distinct meaning of the key term 'United States' in (its) Instructions booklet."
  • Flexibility Rates should be adjusted annually so bring tax receipts closer in line with government spending.
  • More taxes! Create three new special taxes to address contemporary national problems. For instance, a surtax to fund the Iraq war, another a "Manhattan-type" project to find alternatives to oil, and a third to fund education. When one problem is solved, another takes its place for tax purposes.

And finally, as inconceivable as is may seem on April 15, not everyone thinks the system is broken.

"Tell (President Bush)," implores a taxpayer named Keith, "to leave the tax code ALONE!!!"  Top of page

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