Taxing Weekend

Getting my own personal taxes done was part of the reason that I have been away from the keyboard for a couple of days. The effort to locate all paperwork and make sure I've recorded all deductions is such a pain. I do it, because it reduces my tax bill significantly; but I resent the time spent dealing with it. I would trade the deductions for a lower rate and tax simplification just to get back the time I've spent dealing with the aggravation of taxes and tax software. Under the circumstances, it's a good time to focus on the absurdity of tax policy from the left.

The President's so called Buffett Rule is suffering a death by a thousand cuts. First, it was reported that the proposal would do little to trim the deficit. When the proposal actually hit the Senate committee designated to take it up, we find that it actually increases the deficit. The President has yet to put forward a serious proposal to reform the tax code. This is a chance for Romney to seize the high ground and call for a low and flat tax structure for all Americans. Obama would be hard pressed to respond. If his only proposal is the Buffett Rule, Romney can show how a flat tax and same rate on all income with a standard deduction will actually achieve the purported goals of the Buffett rule. Any other proposal from the President will look pretty lame, considering the amount of time he has had and done nothing with it.

Listening to Fox News a little while working the 1040 and associated forms, I heard even Bob Beckel admit what a nightmare the tax code is and endorse a flat tax. This is an issue that I believe that Obama has gifted to Romney, but I'm not hearing Romney on the attack.

The bottom line is that while there may be a need to increase government revenue, that will happen when the economy starts to grow. In the mean time we have an administration intent on growing government, look at the results:



The fiscal year 2011 spending turned out to be 24% of GDP and the fiscal year 2012 government estimate is that federal outlays will be 24.3% of GDP. Although not as high as predicted, this is hardly reversing the trend.