Paying Taxes Term Paper

Total Length: 1271 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1+

Page 1 of 4

Americans hate paying taxes. Idioms that for example place death and taxes in the same category prove this. There are some very specific reasons why Americans do not enjoy paying taxes, and these are examined below. Apart from the mere principle behind this sentiment, are also some concrete and even valid motivations for attempting to evade the obligation to pay taxes. These include reasons relating to government corruption and the tendency of the very rich to evade their own tax paying responsibilities. Furthermore it appears, according to some, that the economy does not benefit from current tax legislation, and that this is mainly a result of the corruption mentioned above.

The Necessity of Taxes

Doubtlessly, taxes are necessary. The Government needs funding in order to provide its people with the highest quality of goods and services. Recreation and roads for example are maintained by means of taxes. Taxes, while applied for the benefit of society, are therefore not so much an evil as a necessity. One could therefore agree with Johnston in his assessment that taxes are the price for a civilized society. Nonetheless, Americans have a very negative attitude towards this issue, and perhaps not without reason.

Excessive and Unfair Taxes

The first and most basic reason for a negative attitude towards paying taxes is that it takes a large chunk from already strained salaries. The perception is then that the rich become increasingly rich as a result of overly taxing the poor and middle classes. Large companies such as Enron for example neglect their tax paying duties for years without being caught. This exacerbates the already negative feelings people have regarding taxes.

A further perception is that taxes are excessively and unfairly high. An example of this is the issue of transfer taxes. In this case, taxes are levied on property that is transferred at death (estate tax), during life (gift tax) and to grandchildren or other descendants (generation-skipping transfer tax) (Wagner).
According to the author, these taxes generate little revenue, while having severely adverse economic effects. It is therefore an example not only of unfair tax laws, but also of a lack of proper or indeed intelligent tax management on the part of legislators.

Transfer taxes, according to Wagner, impose an unnecessarily heavy burden upon private saving and investment, and thus the economy of the country as a whole is impacted negatively while the gains from these taxes are minimal. Once again, it is those who can least afford it who are burdened most heavily by transfer taxes. Small businesses for example, are burdened with very heavy transfer taxes, because the valuation of these businesses at the death of their owners is a complicated process. The high statutory rates imposed also results in family-owned businesses having to be sold in order to cover such costs. This then results in less efficient ownership and management of such businesses, once again having an adverse effect on the economy. Because small business is the vehicle for entrepreneurship and economic growth in the country, the excessively high transfer tax associated with it burdens the economy.

Transfer tax then results not only in burdens placed upon the small business sector, but has severe ramifications for other areas of the economy. The overall result is that the higher levels of unemployment and lower wages connected with transfer tax issues eventually result in lower tax revenue for the government. It is therefore a losing situation for all involved.

This kind of tax therefore does not result in an improvement either for the government or for society in general. The purpose of taxation, as mentioned above, is the improvement of the environment and services for the benefit of civilization. If this benefit does not result, the tax is unfair and should not be imposed. There is no success….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Related Essays

Why America Sought Independence

colonists, a dislike of paying taxes, and the desire of the separate colonies to arrange affairs with foreign countries on their own. Development of the Thesis Holton (1999) develops the thesis by showing the practical troubles that the early colonists faced and how it simply made more sense for them to be in charge of their own individual affairs than have to rely on England for permission. For example, when it came to claiming land themselves, the colonists had to contend with the Native Americans. The Cherokee were worried that they would lose their… Continue Reading...

Effects of Immigrants on the UK Economy

which held that residents of the UK were mostly concerned about the impacts of immigrants in terms of paying taxes and using the welfare system. They found two areas where such concerns were disconnected from reality. One being that such concerns were outsized in proportion to the actual relevance of that particular issue, and the other being that more important concerns, such as big picture things like impact on wages and employment, were actually not as important. These findings illustrate more that cognitive bias and the way public debates are framed have a far strong influence on public perception than things like facts and rational analysis. Point 2:… Continue Reading...

Immigration in the United Kingdom

passports. And although they have lived in Britain for many decades—paying taxes and insurance—they never formally became British citizens.” This paper will discuss the issue of the Windrush Generation from a historical and contemporary vantage point to show what happened and what remains to be done. [2: Al Jazeera, The UK’s Windrush Generation, 2018. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/uk-windrush-generation-scandal-180418074648878.html] The Scandal In 2018, more than 80 cases involving members of the Windrush Generation were reported in which the immigrants and their children, some of whom were British born, were wrongfully denied rights and deported by the UK Home Office.[footnoteRef:3] These were people who had… Continue Reading...

Technologies Used by ISIS The Terrorist Organizations

through text messages, IED attacks, bombing, anonymous calls etc. This way ISIS succeeds in sending terror to the local communities who oblige by paying taxes to them for their own security. In order to overcome the threat of terrorism the U.S. security agencies may have to bleach the rights to privacy in order to get into the communication networks of suspect organizations if only to foil potential attacks on the American people. By hacking into the ISIS fusion centers and eavesdropping on their digital, radio, and apps communication it is likely to decode what they might be planning. As it was with the San Bernardino attacker the FBI employed the services of professional… Continue Reading...

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Paying Taxes" (2005, March 11) Retrieved July 1, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/paying-taxes-62793

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Paying Taxes" 11 March 2005. Web.1 July. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/paying-taxes-62793>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Paying Taxes", 11 March 2005, Accessed.1 July. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/paying-taxes-62793