The Big Ideas Project

Eliminate the Alternate Minimum Tax for all individuals, both domestic and living abroad, adjusting tax rates as needed, and reduce the burdensome reporting requirements on saving accounts for individual citizens living abroad.

Submitted by nocorporatetype in Taxes & Budget Dec. 10, 2014, 6:39 p.m.

Tweet Share

#1982

42 votes

Make the top individual income tax rate 72.5% & the lowest 1.5% & create 33 brackets.

Submitted by Xander Taylor in Taxes & Budget Dec. 10, 2014, 10:43 p.m.

Tweet Share

#1982

42 votes

Put an end to FATCA and stop taxing Americans around the world for simply being American citizens. The government of the US is one of 2 in the world that taxes based on citizenship. Ex-pats who live, work, and pay taxes in foreign countries are currently still required to pay taxes to the US government. These taxes are IN ADDITION to the taxes we pay to the foreign governments of our adoptive countries. It is unfair and out-of-step with the rest of the world to tax your citizens like this.

Submitted by JK in Taxes & Budget Dec. 18, 2014, 3:50 p.m.

Tweet Share

#1982

42 votes

The executive branch should end the malicious divisiveness by holding the GOP responsible for continuously forcing tax cuts on the US for the last 30 years, causing most of the 17.5 trillion $ cumulative US national debt. The GOP politicians mainly responsible should be tried for treason, stripped of political rights, and forced to confess if it was ignorance or some form of bribery that caused to apply Keynes principles to a global economy where only nations with low wage levels benefit.

Submitted by Peter H. from MO in Taxes & Budget Dec. 11, 2014, 11:09 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2000

41 votes

Convert federal corporate income tax into a franchise tax, i.e. a legal franchise to do business in the U.S. Start with GAAP income (used in SEC filings) and give credit for plant and equipment located in the U.S. and payroll paid to U.S. residents. The greater the U.S. percentage, the greater the credit.

Submitted by danaf3 in Taxes & Budget Dec. 11, 2014, 3:01 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2000

41 votes

Give workers an overtime differential federal tax credit if they work at multiple jobs totaling more than 40 at a rate less than a living wage but collecting no (or insufficient) overtime pay. Assess a penalty to businesses of more than 50 employees for their fair share of this externalized cost UNLESS the part-time work for their portion of the employee's work is already at a living wage. (A living wage, more than the minimum wage, would need to be defined, but let's assume $15/hr.)

Submitted by Kent Pitman in Taxes & Budget Dec. 26, 2014, 1:36 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2000

41 votes

vastly simplify tax code by making all income of whatever kind directly subject to a single set of tax brackets, eliminate all deductions, except for dependents , institute a graduated (progressive) sales tax, shelter owner-occupied homes that are paid off and whose owners own no other real property from property tax

Submitted by robert w. from NM in Taxes & Budget Dec. 10, 2014, 6:59 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2000

41 votes

Establish a Flat Tax applicable to every wage earner. The flat tax would be levied on every penny earned from any and all sources.

Submitted by Angry in Taxes & Budget Dec. 10, 2014, 1:43 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2000

41 votes

We should go to the U.N. and look to establish a uniform world Corporate Tax Rate. This potentially solves a many problems, from Capital Flight, to Tax Evasion Strategies... Lets find a future Suma Cum Laude from one of the great universities to do a Master Thesis on it. Let us see if the potential ramifications. This "could" also dampen down currency wars through stabilization... You read it here first!

Submitted by joeyharp in Taxes & Budget Dec. 23, 2014, 8:17 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2000

41 votes

Since corporate growth is good for the economy and good for jobs, why not tax corporations at the federal level by shifting away from direct taxation of the corporation toward taxing at the standard rate--ideally more like those before the Reagan era--those dollars that go into any individual's pocket, whether owner, CEO, employee, or shareholder.

Submitted by No in Taxes & Budget Dec. 18, 2014, 12:35 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2000

41 votes

Replace all individual and corporate income taxes with a small national sales tax and progressive taxes on corporate sales and excess accumulated individual and corporate wealth. This will enable a vast expansion of the social safety net, the cancelling student debt and the doubling of Social Security. Details are available in Common Sense, my free book, downloadable at: www.Our-Nation.com..

Submitted by Bob Zimmerman in Taxes & Budget Dec. 18, 2014, 10 a.m.

Tweet Share

#2017

40 votes

Allocate Your Tax Dollars - A project to ask a million Americans to allocate their tax dollars as a guide to elected officials when establishing the federal budget. - A process to engage Americans in how their taxes should be used. -A project to reinvigorate participatory budgeting and democracy. -A project to create a baseline of allocation percentages and priorities that the American people can use to hold elected officials accountable when spending US tax dollars.

Submitted by Allocate Your. Tax Dollars in Taxes & Budget Dec. 17, 2014, 9:53 a.m.

Tweet Share

#2024

39 votes

Make permanent and modify the Research Subsidy allowing industry to use research costs as a tax deduction by allowing 100% of such costs to be deducted but also requiring that 75% of these deductions be in areas of basic research, not in areas directly supporting existing products or services.

Submitted by D Straus in Taxes & Budget Dec. 11, 2014, 4:35 a.m.

Tweet Share

#2024

39 votes

Progressive taxation on tax incidence, not just income. We know how much everyone makes in terms of taxable income, and with the power of big data we can make all forms of tax incidence progressive, not just income. For example, a wall street banker pays the same sales tax and parking ticket fee as someone below the poverty line, but we could instead spread the burden across the income brackets so everyone pays an amount they can afford.

Submitted by Simon R, Political Organizer in Taxes & Budget Dec. 11, 2014, 6:43 a.m.

Tweet Share

#2037

38 votes

Our military is volunteer because when established it was said we could "afford it". Now we can't. The cost of marketing to attract personnel is too much. This includes present benefits and promotions given to personnel and families. We should pursue a draft where costs of marketing and benefits to military dependents are reduced but numbers of personnel increases.

Submitted by the answertothegap in Taxes & Budget Dec. 29, 2014, 11:53 a.m.

Tweet Share

#2037

38 votes

Establish a range for a reasonable amount of national debt. All debt is not categorically bad. (Most households have some without detriment to their financial health.) There is room debate on how much is healthy/unhealthy for national debt, yet hysterics get center stage. When interest rates are low, money is cheap; it's a good time to invest in infrastructure, jobs, etc. Debt is now about 1X GDP. 1X annual earnings is NOT high. Let's get perspective & invest wisely.

Submitted by Timothy Salt in Taxes & Budget Dec. 20, 2014, 11:49 a.m.

Tweet Share

#2037

38 votes

Tax reform that treats all families (single and multiple members) the same as all businesses. Human Beings are God's highest creation, and there is no product or service that is more important than the present and future generations. Therefore, the tax code should be reformed to put families equal to businesses. If a family could deduct all the things that a business can, think of how much the economy would be helped by the increased spending power, as well as closing the corporate loopholes.

Submitted by taxman in Taxes & Budget Dec. 10, 2014, 5:28 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2037

38 votes

Simplify the corporate tax code to 15% across the board. Eliminate ALL deductions. The only deduction would be for hiring (and maintaining for a period of at least 1 year in order to get the deduction). The company would receive a 1% deduction (from the 15%) based on a range of percentages (ex 1% ded for increasing 1-10% of workforce, 2% for increasing 11%-20%)

Submitted by Dennis Gilgallon in Taxes & Budget Dec. 10, 2014, 2:30 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2046

37 votes

Oil prices are at a 15 year low and now is the time to put a sliding-scale tariff on imported oil to ensure its end price stays at a level beneficial to us [$100/ bbl? ]. The lower it goes, the more it undercuts the cost/price of renewable energy. OPEC no longer controls the price of oil in the USA. Tax of domestic oil also should be taxed at a level to keep its price at a target level.

Submitted by Gary Paul in Taxes & Budget Dec. 10, 2014, 11:43 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2056

36 votes

Shred Title 26: A New Tax Code for a New Economy. Congress should vote on each provision of the tax code, as directed by the US Tax Payer Advocate.

Submitted by Aria Littlhous in Taxes & Budget Jan. 4, 2015, 1:19 p.m.

Tweet Share

#2056

36 votes

Who’s voting?

Thanks for voting on your favorite ideas!