Alone in the Car: Let's Make FederalTaxes For Everyone

I direct your attention to an article by CNN Money. It discusses the reasons why almost 40% of Americans don't pay Federal Income Tax. The estimate for 2011 is closer to 46%. See: http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/26/pf/taxes/income-tax/index.htm?iid=Lead

I don't mind paying taxes if I knew what they were going for. I want to delegate certain services to others such as protecting my family, coinage/treasury, etc. Also, I never quite understand why, theoretically, my money has to travel all the way up to Washington D.C. and all the way back to my town, "touched" by many employees for federal programs. Wouldn't just be easier and cheaper if there were less people involved, kept the taxes locally in the first place, and let the public or their local representatives decide where their taxes should go?

Value added programs, proper use of funds, and whether programs should be local or federal are for other discussions. The reality is that I have to pay my federal taxes as do other Americans. The feds. then decide what programs will receive funds from the monies they have collected. Well, if that is the process, then we need to come up with a better one because 55-60% of Americans are only paying taxes.

The solutions listed below are not new. They have been suggested for some time now. Each time they are batted down but this economy brings them back to the forefront. Being a simple solution sometimes is a problem in and of itself. A complex process keeps more people employed, requires experts to be sought out after for advice, and keeps people confused thus giving the process a mystifying air about it.

1. Straight amount of income tax for all citizens.
I suggest 10% of the gross amount you earn. The employer sends you the W-2 form demonstrating how much you earned during the past year as they do now. Basically it is the same process, only you move the decimal over one digit to the left and that is how much you owe the federal government. You pay 10% in check, money order, or by credit card with a copy of the form.  End of story.

2. There is no federal tax form or deadline.
There is a federal tax on everything you purchase instead. This theory is based on the idea that the wealthy buy more than the poor. Illegals make purchases while here in this country. Even those committing crimes have to eat. Everyone would then contribute to the government programs they use, from the U.S. Post Office to the Military to Utilities.

Both are better than the system we have in place now. They are easy to understand, easy to apply, and are efficient methods. And as a sidebar: it takes Congress out of the tax code creation business, their previous work evidenced by a tax code that is huge. Anything to get Congress to act more efficiently and effectively works for me.