Student 1

Sally Student

Ms. Voyles

English 102

7 March 2022

Federal Income Tax:

An Annotated Bibliography

Bandow, Doug. “Americans Are Overtaxed.” Tax Reform, edited by Noȅl Merino, 2011, pp.

20-25.

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and specialized in foreign policy

and civil liberties. In this article, Bandow covers how there are numerous taxes on

Americans, and that a lot of them are excessive. The nation is already in debt and the

government is just continuing to “borrow” money from taxpayers. Not only this, but

Americans are taxed on the basic life necessities such as clothes, food, and shelter. Social

Security has also begun to run on a deficit. This means that they are now paying out more

than they are taking in and the only way to fix this would be to raise taxes even higher on

Americans. I would use this article to show how many people believe that there are too

many taxes and why.

Brady, Demian. “Who Doesn't Pay Income Taxes.” NTU, 20 Dec. 2021,

https://www.ntu.org/foundation/tax-page/who-doesnt-pay-income-taxes. Accessed 22

Feb. 2022.

Demian Brady is Vice President of Research for National Taxpayers Union Foundation,

and he also manages the organization’s Taxpayers’ Budget Office. In this article, Brady

covers some of the different groups of people that do not pay taxes and why they are
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eligible. Most people who do not owe federal income tax are usually those who are lower

income families, and those who pay the most federal income taxes are the wealthiest.

Many also qualify for certain deductions off their total income, meaning that they can

receive some of their tax money back from the government. Married couples can also file

for other deductions, especially if they have children. However, most Americans still

have to file their income tax yearly to find out if they paid in the correct amount. I do not

plan to use this article because most of the information is a repeat from another source,

and this is not the best source.

Cussen, Mark P. “5 Groups That Don't Pay Taxes.” Edited by Lea D Uradu and Yarilet Perez,

Investopedia, 15 Jan. 2022,

https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0411/5-groups-that-dont-pay-taxes.aspx.

Accessed 22 Feb. 2022.

Mark Cussen graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in

English, has worked in many different areas of finance, and is currently working as a

financial writer. Although most Americans and businesses are responsible for filing their

income taxes every year, not everyone actually needs to. According to Cussen, there are

five distinct groups that do not own any federal income tax, which are: non-profit

organizations, U.S. citizens who work abroad, low-income taxpayers, taxpayers with

numerous deductions, and taxpayers with many dependents. For low-income taxpayers

and those with deductions and dependents, most of the time their income tax return is

equal (and sometimes greater) than what they originally paid due to their respective

situations. Citizens that work abroad are sometimes exempt from taxes if they live and

work overseas for most of the year and make less than $108,700. Non-profit
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organizations can also be exempt from taxes if they are considered an organization that

“seek[s] to improve our society.” This article shows and lists the different types of

individuals who don’t have to pay taxes, and I could use this to show more of how the

progressive tax code works and how the flat tax could potentially change this.

Durbay, Curtis S. “Taxing the Rich Heavily is Not Good Policy.” Tax Reform, edited by Noȅl

Merino, 2011, pp. 57-68.

Durbay is a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, where he specializes in tax

issues. Durbay explains that many politicians believe that the solution to the national debt

crisis is to heavily raise taxes on the wealthy. However, this is bad policy because, not

only do the wealthy already pay most of the income tax, but it also allows Congress to

raise or lower the rate at will. It would also create loss of jobs and lowered wages because

wealthy business owners will not want to pay as many workers or as high wages. Taxing

the rich also would not solve the national debt because it just gives Congress more money

to spend, and it is not spent on alleviating the national debt. Durbay also believes that the

government should not be punishing people for being successful and making money. I

can use some of the information in this article to provide a viewpoint as to why the

government should not tax the rich.

Foster, Sarah. “2021-2022 Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates.” Edited by Lance Davis,

Bankrate, 12 Jan. 2022,

https://www.bankrate.com/taxes/tax-brackets/#:~:text=There%20are%20seven%20tax%2

0brackets,separately%20and%20head%20of%20household. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022.

Sarah Foster writes about the Federal Reserve and has previously worked for news

sources such as the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Daily Herald. Her article provides a
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table and an explanation of how federal income tax is collected and the different rates that

apply to those with different annual income. Since there is a marginal tax rate in the

United States, not everyone is charged the same income tax percentage. There are seven

different tax brackets that someone can fall into based on his or her income and if he or

she is filing as married or as single. However, it is possible to lower one’s amount of

taxable income and someone could potentially fall into a lower tax bracket if one can

deduct enough money from one’s taxable income. There are several different credits and

deductions that one could qualify for, such as (but not limited to): child tax credits,

medical bills, education credits, et cetera. This article has a detailed and clear explanation

which will be used to show how the current income tax system works.

Frank, Robert. “61% Of Americans Paid No Federal Income Taxes in 2020, Tax Policy Center

Says.” CNBC, 20 Aug. 2021,

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/18/61percent-of-americans-paid-no-federal-income-taxes

-in-2020-tax-policy-center-says.html. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022.

Robert Frank is an award-winning journalist that writes for CNBC and hosts “Secret

Lives of the Super Rich.” In this article, he reports on the vast number of Americans who

owed nothing in federal income tax in 2020. Almost sixty-one percent of American

households did not pay any income tax, largely due to the pandemic. This began to spark

conversations about who should be paying income tax and the pros and cons to the

United States tax system. Many believe that, because over half of the United States did

not pay taxes this year, there should be sweeping reform to the system and that everyone

should have to pay his or her “fair share.” However, others argue that the system

protected and actually provided relief to lower-income and middle-class families from
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struggling more than they already had from the pandemic. This article will be really

useful in explaining who is exempt from paying taxes and why it causes political turmoil

and class warfare.

Hoagland, Ken. “What Is the FairTax?” The FairTax Solution: Financial Justice For All

Americans, Sentinel, New York, New York, 2010, pp. 5–21.

Ken Hoagland is the national communications director for Americans for Fair Taxation

and has appeared on countless radio and television programs and written many articles

about Fairtax. This book mainly focuses on the viewpoint that there should be no federal

income tax. Instead, Hoagland states that the government should institute what is called

“FairTax” which is an alternative way to generate government revenue in the form of a

twenty-three percent retail tax. This means twenty-three percent of the price of any

products, goods, or services purchased goes directly to the government. However,

Hoagland also believes that basic life necessities should not be taxed, and therefore says

that every single American should receive an additional monthly allowance from the

government that should equal the amount of taxes that they will pay on necessities. This

means that, if lower income families are only buying what they need to survive, they will

never be paying any taxes to the government. In turn, richer families who buy luxuries

will be paying more of their share of the income tax. This information provided in this

book will be used for arguing against federal income tax in the United States.

“Historical Highlights of the IRS.” IRS, 2 Nov. 2021,

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/historical-highlights-of-the-irs. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a division of the United States government that is

responsible for collecting federal income taxes annually. This article covers a breakdown
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of the history of federal income tax since its initial introduction as a form of revenue

during the Civil War. After the end of the war, income tax was repealed for a few years

until the Wilson Tariff Act revived it in 1894. However, the Supreme Court ended up

declaring it unconstitutional, and federal income tax was repealed once again. The third

(and final) time that income tax was introduced was in 1909. President Taft influenced

Congress and convinced them to propose an amendment that would allow the

government to collect income tax. The Sixteenth Amendment was finally ratified (with

Wyoming as the last state) in 1913. While the Sixteenth Amendment has remained in

effect to this day, the rate at which Americans were taxed has fluctuated greatly since its

introduction due to events such as wars and economic turmoil. This article is extremely

helpful as it provides a very detailed history about the introduction of income taxes and

clearly demonstrates the chain of events leading up to the current system in the United

States.

Mitchell, Daniel J. “A Flat Tax Should Replace the Current System.” Tax Reform, edited by Noȅl

Merino, 2011, pp. 143-152.

Daniel J. Mitchell is a fellow at Cato Institute and specialized in tax reforms and policies

and he co-authored Global Tax Revolution: The Rise of Tax Competition and the Battle to

Defend It. This chapter explains the reasons why some believe that there should be a flat

tax rate across the United States. According to Armey (the Republican who initially

proposed a flat tax), there should only be a seventeen percent tax on wages, salaries, and

pensions, with a family allowance handed out annually that covered the tax on basic life

necessities. Reforming the tax system to implement a flat tax was discussed in the 1990s,

but ultimately failed to pass because President Bill Clinton and most Democrats in
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Congress disliked and therefore rejected any ideas. The initial reason for this rejection

was due to the lack of countries participating in a flat tax system, but since the 1990s,

many more countries have implemented such a system. However, more and more

Americans have become aware of the idea for a flat tax system and many of them would

prefer it to the current system today. However, the prospect of a flat tax passing through

Congress is currently very slim due to all of the bureaucratic hurdles set in place. This

article would be useful to help explain some of the upsides to a flat tax rate and to

provide a counter argument to the current tax system and other ideas of how it should be

reformed.

“Should the U.S. Adopt a Flat Federal Income Tax?” Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 29 Nov.

2011, icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTk1NDU=. Accessed 22 Feb.

2022.

Issues & Controversies is a well-known database that has many different credible articles

about a variety of controversial topics. This article begins by explaining what the current

tax system in the United States is and how some disagree with it. Currently, there is a

progressive tax rate, meaning that the more one makes, the more one is taxed. Others

believe that there should be a flat tax rate, meaning that, regardless of how much one

makes, everyone is taxed an equal percentage. However, the proposed flat tax rate

percentage is usually higher than what many low-income and middle-class families

currently pay, while wealthier individuals tend to get a tax break. Due to the controversy

surrounding this issue, it is unlikely that the United States will adopt a plan like this in the

future. I could use this article for more history on how the controversy began, but I think

that the second Issues & Controversies article has all of this information and more.
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“Taxation and Tax Reform.” Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 28 Jan. 2013,

icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTYyNjQ=. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022.

Issues & Controversies is a well-known database that has many different credible articles

about a variety of controversial topics. This article introduces and explains the different

sides to the controversy about income tax. Some people believe that there should be a flat

tax rate (meaning that everyone pays the same percent, regardless of income). Instead of

endlessly taxing the rich, the government should tax everyone equally. Supporters of a

flat income tax argue that, by continually imposing higher taxes on higher income

individuals, the government is punishing its citizens for being successful and will

eventually drive industry to other countries. However, those who support a progressive

tax rate believe that taxing the wealthy will help alleviate national debt and provide

revenue for services that help lower income families. They also believe that lower income

families should be taxed very little, or none, because they are struggling to survive on

what they make before taxes and need every cent possible. This article is very helpful in

explaining the different sides to the income tax controversy and provides valid facts and

evidence to argue either side.

Ulbrich, Holley. “A Flat Tax Should Not Replace the Current System.” Tax Reform, edited by

Noȅl Merino, 2011, pp. 153-156.

Holley Ulbrich is a scholar at the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public

Affairs of Clemson University. In this article, Ulbrich covers why it would not be

beneficial to Americans to change the current tax rate to a flat tax. By changing the

system, it would eliminate tax deductions, meaning that a family would not be able to

write off part of their income as non taxable. This especially hurts lower income families
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because deductions such as the child tax credit system would no longer exist, and

families that have not been paying income tax for many years would suddenly start. The

only benefit that could come from a flat tax system would be to make taxes less on the

wealthy. Ulbrich acknowledges that the current tax system is far from perfect, but instead

of trying to make a “one size fits all” system, Americans should look for a different way

to reform. I may use this article to argue against a flat tax rate, but I feel like I may be

able to find a better article that has a little more information on the downsides of a flat tax

instead of the generic facts provided here.