07 WFT IV-1, DD Inserts

Chapter 1 Digging Deeper

Contents:

CRITERIA USED IN THE SELECTIONOF A TAX STRUCTURE

1.In the eighteenth century, Adam Smith identified the following canons of taxation,which still should be considered when evaluating a particular tax structure.1

Equality. Each taxpayer enjoys fair or equitable treatment by paying taxes inproportion to hisor her income level. Ability to pay a tax is the measure ofhow equitably a tax is distributed among taxpayers.
Convenience. Administrative simplicity has long been valued in formulating tax policy. If a tax is easily assessed and collected and its administrative costs are low, it should be favored. An advantage of the withholding (pay-as-you-go) system is its convenience for taxpayers.
Certainty. A tax structure is good if the taxpayer can readily predict when, where, and how a tax will be levied. Individuals and businesses need to know the likely tax consequences of a particular type of transaction.
Economy. A good tax system involves only nominal collection costs by the government and minimal compliance costs on the part of the taxpayer. Although thegovernment’s cost of collecting Federal taxes amounts to less than 1 percent of the revenue collected, the complexity of our current tax structure imposes substantial taxpayer compliance costs.

By these canons, the Federal income tax is a contentious product. Equality ispresent as long asone accepts ability to pay as an ingredient of this component. Convenience exists due to a heavy reliance on pay-as-you-go procedures. Certaintyprobably generates the greatest controversy. In one sense, certainty is present sincea mass of administrative and judicial guidelines exists to aid in interpreting the taxlaw. In another sense, however, certainty does not exist since many questionsremain unanswered and frequent changes in the tax law by Congress lessen stability.Economy is present if only the collection procedure of the IRS is considered.Economy is not present, however, if one focuses instead on taxpayer complianceefforts and costs.

In 2001, theAmerican Institute of Certified Public Accountants(AICPA) issued suggestions on Federal tax policy. TitledGuiding Principles of Good Tax Policy: A Framework for Evaluating Tax Proposals, the monograph sets forth 10 tax principlesthat are commonly used as indicators of desirable tax policy.

The first four principles are adapted from Adam Smith’sThe Wealth of Nations. The other six are summarized below. The full text of the monograph is available at .

The tax system should be simple.
The tax should be neutral in terms of its effect on business decisions.
The tax system should not reduce economic growth and efficiency.
The tax should be clear and readily understood, so that taxpayers know about it and when it applies.
The tax should be structured so as to minimize noncompliance.
The tax system should enable the government to predict the amount and timing of revenue production.

The Tax Foundation has issued the following statement about tax systems that promote jobs and economic growth. See especially the discussion of state business tax climates at. Here is a paraphrase of the statement.

The ideal tax system, at the local, state, or federal level, is simple, transparent, stable, neutral to business activity, and pro-growth. Individuals and businesses would spend a minimum amount of resources and time to comply with the tax system, understand the true costs of the system, base their economic decisions solely on the merits of the underlying transactions, without regard to tax implications, and not have the tax system impede their growth and prosperity.

Tax Foundation guidelines also call for taxes and law changes that are not applied retroactively, so that taxpayers can rely on the law as it stands when contracts are signed and transactions are completed.

The Tax Foundation generally calls for taxes that show broad bases and low rates. This means that lawmakers should avoid adopting targeted deductions, credits, and exclusions. With restrictions as to the use of tax preferences, tax rates can stay low, revenue collections will be stable from year to year, and the U.S. economy can compete well globally with other countries.

PROPERTY TAXES

2. Unlike the ad valorem tax on personalty, the tax on realtyis difficult to avoid. Because real estate is impossible to hide, a high degree of taxpayercompliance is not surprising. The only avoidance possibility that generally is available is associated with the assessed value of the property. For this reason, theassessed value of the property—particularly, a value that is redetermined upward—maybe subject to controversy and litigation.

The history of the ad valorem tax on realty has been marked by inconsistentapplication due to a lack of competent tax administration and definitive, standardized guidelinesfor assessment procedures. In recent years, however, some significant improvementshave occurred. Some jurisdictions, for example, have computerized theirreassessment procedures so that they immediately affect all property located withinthe jurisdiction.

Several jurisdictions provide homeowners with a measure of protection fromincreased property taxes by “freezing” existing assessments and limiting futureupward adjustments. Such restrictions on reassessments, however, do not carryover to the new owner when the property is sold. Thus, such measures tend tolock in ownership and restrict the mobility of those who might otherwise changeresidences.

WHO PAYS THE U.S. INCOME TAX?

3.There are plenty of commentators nowadays talking about how to “fix” the Federal income tax. Think tanks, op-ed columnists, and presidential hopefuls have released sometimes-elaborate plans for how the tax law should work.

The Tax Foundation has issued a series of papers detailing some of the data that tax reformers should consider. Here are some of the highlights of their findings, most of which simply analyze publicly available IRS and Treasury data. For the full text of the papers, go to .

By most estimates, about ten percent of all potential taxpayers do not even file a tax return, because of insufficient income. These parties typically include the elderly, the young, and those in poverty. And another one-third of taxpayers (47 million of them) files a return and has no tax due. This means that all withholdings are returned to the taxpayer (ideally the taxpayer would have arranged with the employer to have zero withholding to begin with), and perhaps an earned income credit and refundable child tax credit attaches so as to pay more than the withheld amount to the filer. The Tax Foundation refers to these individuals as “non-payers” as opposed to the “non-filers.” Non-payers typically achieve such status by applying the child tax credit and various education deductions and credits. Steady increases in the standard deduction and personal exemptions, and the statutory relief from prior so-called marriage penalties create other non-payers. Here are some historical data about non-payers.

Tax Year / Tax Filers With a Zero Federal Income Tax Liability (%)
1950 / 28
1970 / 16
1978 / 26
1984 / 18
2010 / 41

Over half of the non-payers claim a refundable tax credit. In 2010, refundable earned income credits totaled about $52.5billion, and the refundable portion of the child tax credit accounted for about $28 billion of payments. Because of the use of these refundable credits, the incidence of the Federal income tax burden is very low or negative for low-income taxpayers. Tax credits (probably purposely) decrease an already low tax burden at lower income levels, and the result is a redistribution of the tax burden to upper-income taxpayers.

IRS and Census data find that current non-payers tend to be:
Low income (97% earn < $40,000 per year)
Young (36% are < age 25; 56% are < age 35)
Women and unmarried (54% are single women or female-headed households)

Estimated Filing Status of Federal Income Tax Non-Payers
Filing Status / % in Filing Status That Are Non-Payers / % of All Non-Payers
Single / 33.1 / 42.2
Married, Joint Return / 21.5 / 29.8
Married, Separate Return / 21.6 / 1.2
Head of Household / 65.7 / 26.6

Combined, non-payers total about 58.6 million tax returns annually. Because of the use of joint returns, the Tax Foundation estimates that non-filers and non-payers represent about 44 percent of the total U.S. population who are “outside of the Federal income tax system” (i.e., they paid no income tax to the Federal government at all). This may represent the will of the voters, and it may be good government policy as to taxes, poverty, and employment. But is it wise in a civic-mindedness sense to have so many individuals making no contribution to the operations of the government? How about a “minimum income tax” so that all citizens are required to contribute some amount to support government operations?

It is true that the non-filers and non-payers do contribute to the Federal government through payroll, alcohol, and gasoline taxes and to state and local governments through sales/use and property taxes on housing. But most voters have no idea how skewed is the current distribution of the Federal tax burden. It is important to disseminate this information on tax incidence, and also to measure the effects of low or negative contributions to the system on one’s attitude toward government and fellow citizens. The Tax Foundation paper makes the same point.

While some may applaud the fact that millions of low- and middle-income families pay no income taxes, there is a threat to the fabric of our democracy when so many Americans are not only disconnected from the costs of government but are net consumers of government benefits. The conditions are ripe for social conflict if these voters begin to demand more government benefits because they know others will bear the costs.

OTHER TAX BASES

4. Over time, countries have levied taxes of types that seem odd to us today, but they were justified at the time by the needs of the pertinent government, economy, or peoples.

To increase the domestic population, Argentina assessed a special tax on unmarried men between ages 21 and 75. The tax was waived if proof was shown that the bachelor had been turned down three times during the year in his proposals for marriage.Germany and France applied higher tax rates to unmarried men. Illinois applied a tax on bachelors between ages 32 and 65, with the taxes collected earmarked to fund an “Old Maids’ Home.”
A tax on the manufacture of corsets was debated by the U.S. Senate when silk was in short supply. Supporters wished to curb the racy nature of the undergarments, but others statedthat the tax would discriminate against women. Similar taxes were levied in France and England, but the English tax was repealed in 1953 with an argument that the goods promoted women’s health, and not just their vanity.
Some countries assess an “entry tax,” payable when an immigrant crosses the border.The tax can be seen as a way to track the location of the visitor, or to limit the number of immigrants who relocate to the taxing country.
To limit obesity, several U.S. states tax candy, fatty snack foods, and sugared soft drinks.

PROPOSED U.S. TAXES

5.Considerable dissatisfaction with the U.S. Federal income tax has led to several recent proposals that, to say the least, are rather drastic in nature. One proposal would retain the income tax but with substantial change. Two other proposals would replace the Federal income tax with an entirely different system of taxation.

The Flat Tax

One proposal is for a flat tax that would replace the current graduatedincome tax with a single rate of 17 percent. Large personal exemptions (e.g.,approximately $30,000 for a family of four) would allow many low- and middle-income taxpayers to pay no tax. All other deductions would be eliminated, and notax would be imposed on income from investments.

Various other versions of the flat tax have been suggested that would retainselected deductions (e.g., interest on home mortgages and charitable contributions)and not exclude all investment income from taxation.

The major advantage of the flat tax may be its simplicity. Everyone agrees that thecurrent Federal income tax is unbelievably complex. Consequently, compliancecosts are disproportionately high. Proponents of the flat tax further believe that simplifying the income tax will significantly reduce the annual $300 billion “tax gap” (i.e., the difference between the amount of taxes that should be paid and what is actually paid).

Political considerations are a major obstacle to the enactment of a flat tax in itspure form. Special interest groups, such as charitable organizations and mortgagecompanies, are not apt to be complacent over the elimination of a tax deductionthat benefits their industry. In addition, there is uncertainty as to the economiceffects of the tax.

It is interesting to note that Russia’s attempt at a progressive income tax was somewhat disastrous. Not only did high rates drive capital out of the country, but failure to report income was rampant. The income tax was repealedand replaced with a 13 percent flat tax. To date, the flat tax has worked quite well.Several Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) have followed Russia’s example. Romania, Albania, Slovakia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Serbia have also adopted a flat tax.

Value Added Tax

Under a value added tax (VAT), a business pays the tax rate (usually between 5 and 20 percent) on the materials and services incurred to manufacture its products. In effect, a VAT taxes the incremental value that is produced as goods move through the production process to the marketplace. Some observers describe the VAT as a “layered sales tax.”

In spite of its extensive use by other countries (including Canada), the adoption of a VAT by the United States appears doubtful.

TAX AVOIDANCE VS. EVASION

6.Some observers find it difficult to grasp the difference between tax planning/avoidance and tax cheating/evasion, believing that tax professionals deal in “tax schemes” and “loopholes” and commit unethical acts on behalf of their clients.

The classic quote by Learned Hand on p. 1-20in the text is a good starting point at distinguishing between avoidance and evasion. Or how about this Freakonomics blog about tax cheating to start the discussion? And this quote from an essay by Justice Louis Brandeis, Thoughts on Legitimate Tax Awareness and Avoidance, with some minor edits.

I live in Alexandria, Virginia. Near the Supreme Court chambers is a toll bridge across the Potomac. When in a rush, I pay the dollar toll and get home early. However, I usually drive outside the downtown section of the city and cross the Potomac on a free bridge.

This free bridge was placed outside the Washington DC area to serve a useful social service, to help alleviate congestion during rush hour.

If I went over the toll bridge and through the barrier without paying the toll, I would be committing tax evasion.

If, however, I drive the extra mile to the free bridge outside the city, I am using a legitimate, logical, and suitable method of tax avoidance, and I am performing a good deed for society by doing so.

For my tax evasion, I should be punished; for my tax avoidance, I should becommended.

The tragedy of life today is that so few people know that the free bridge even exists.

TAX ADMINISTRATION

7.The responsibility for administering the Federal tax laws rests with the TreasuryDepartment. Administratively, the IRS is part of the Department of the Treasuryand is responsible for enforcing the tax laws. The Commissioner of Internal Revenueis appointed by the President and is responsible for establishing policy andsupervising the activities of the entire IRS organization.

The Audit Process

Selection of Returns for Audit. Due to budgetary limitations, only a smallminority of tax returns are audited. The IRS audits only about 1percent of all individual income tax returns (about one in every 145 returns filed). The number of individual income taxreturns being audited has increased significantly over the past five years.

The IRS utilizes mathematical formulas and statistical sampling techniques toselect tax returns that are most likely to contain errors and to yield substantialamounts of additional tax revenues upon audit. The mathematical formula yields a regression function that is called a Discriminant IndexFormula (DIF) score. It is the DIF scoregiven to a particular return that may lead to its selection for audit.

To update the DIF components, the IRS selects a cross section of returns, whichare subject to various degrees of inspection (i.e., information return verification,correspondence, and face-to-face audits with filers). The results of these auditshighlight areas of taxpayer noncompliance and enable the IRS to use its auditorsmore productively. In recent years, IRS audits have resulted in an increasing numberof ‘‘no change’’ results (see below). This indicates that the IRS is not alwayschoosing the right returns to audit (i.e., the ones with errors).