Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Transparent budgeting system needed

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan proposed a budget plan this past week that was big on political agenda and small on balancing the budget. Both parties are trying to create budgets that favor their benefactors, so how about trying a transparent system?

Have the Congressional Budget Office calculate the amount of revenue the federal government would bring in without individuals or businesses getting any deductions, tax breaks or incentives (mortgage and standard deduction, farm subsidies, depreciation, capital gains, hedge fund manager special tax rates, etc.).

Also disclose, in detail, the amount of tax money Americans would forfeit and gain due to the elimination of each specific deduction, subsidy and special tax break.

Should the amount of revenue exceed the amount needed to balance the budget, the CBO should estimate tax rate cuts across the board until a balanced budget emerges. Should the amount of revenue not exceed the amount of money needed to balance the budget, the CBO should estimate a tax rate increase until a balanced budget emerges.

From the above results, the House, the Senate and the president should work to justify any program changes, deductions and tax breaks in front of the American people. At least with the knowledge and information provided above, we would be able to know the costs and benefits, in an apples-to-apples way, of any changes proposed in the federal tax system.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy