I have a sure-fire way to cut our income taxes substantially — by half, at least. My plan has just two elements:
Outlaw tax withholding.
Today the vast majority of Americans have both their federal and state income taxes withheld from every paycheck. Instead, I’d like to see every U.S. citizen who earns an income make out a check every quarter to pay their taxes (this is what contractors do today). By making every citizen cut a check, we’ll make every citizen aware that they’re paying it (many people never even think about the withheld taxes). By making it quarterly, the size of the tax bite will be that much more evident.
Hold all elections on April 16th.
It is no accident that “tax day” is a long way from election day. Let’s fix that, and hold elections when the pain of tax extraction is fresh and clear in the voter’s minds. I promise you that politicians promising tax cuts will get extra attention that close to tax day!
What do you think about my simple, two-step plan?
