Flat Tax

Thanks Pro. I'm also going to keep my rebuttal short and to the point. 1. Pro says a flat tax is more fair, but I am arguing the opposite. In the process of determining wages, an employer has the upper hand in the negotiating process. The higher up the ladder in management and ownership you go at work, and the more capital you acquire as an individual, the more advantages you have in life. To subsidize the people with inherent disadvantages, the government guarantees what is considered bare minimum standards of living for its citizens. They change over time, and these are funded through taxes. The more wealth you have, the more you contribute as a matter of practicality; you can afford it. We value a progressive tax system because charging everyone the same rate of a flat tax would defeat the purpose of taxation helping people in the first place. A flat tax doesn't penalize people for success, because people still get rich and have a gap above others. 2. I concede point #2 because I don't think it's relevant. Moving on. 3. People do spend money on tax advisers, but that's because it saves them money in the long run as the advisers know how to optimize their benefits if they are deserving of tax credits. Tax advisers are not necessary. Mistakes are fairly easy to avoid even if you do your own taxes As for tax fraud, we should not have to make something incredibly simple just to ensure economic integrity and abiding by the law. 4. The same reasoning goes for point #4 in regard to politicians working with corporations to create tax loop holes. Rather then eliminate the progressive tax, we can discourage fraud and stop rewarding cronyism. 5. A flat tax rate would only benefit those wealthy enough to invest and expand in the first place. This does not do anything for the lower and middle class who rely on the top earners to contribute their "fair share." We suggest it's fair because they enjoy the privileges of their wealth, which should not come at the expense of other people's survival. 6. Pro says that sales tax can compensate for income tax, but I don't see how it can generate anywhere near the same revenue since we already have sales tax in most states in addition to income tax. 7. We have no reason to believe that people would not still hide money in off-shore accounts and do other criminal things even if we reduced the tax rate. People will always try to pay less than they have to, but that does not mean they SHOULD be paying more. 8. This goes along with point #8 about why rich people should have to foot the bill. See point #5. 9. Rich people with capital have to invest to continue earning profit, so they will invest and find ways to invest regardless. 10. Even if we cut spending, the U.S. has a ton of debt. What cutting should be spent and how much is also an ambiguous proposal by Pro. The people living below the poverty line and working for minimum wage cannot afford to contribute 20% of their earnings to government. 20% of 15K is $3,000 which means a flat tax rate of 20% would have a poor person earning 12K a year on minimum wage. That is impossible compared to a millionaire taxed at 20% who might pay $200,000 a year in taxes, which is a lot more but they can still afford to live on $800,000 vs. a poor person's 12K. 11. Just because the majority of people want something doesn't mean it's for the best. After 9/11 the majority of people wanted to go to war with Iraq, but when more evidence was attained and time passed, we got less emotional and chose something more rational. Now the majority of Americans disagree with that position. 12. I concede point #2 because I don't think it's relevant. Moving on. 13. Pro's suggestion is good for the wealthy, but ignores the burden on the middle class. The middle class will not benefit from this sudden tax break and will likely see a huge tax increase. They will not be able to save more, they will have to spend more. They will be in a worse position, less likely to become entrepreneurs and more indebted to the capitalist elite who can exploit them due to their circumstance.