How to solve the tax gap, erase the deficit, and build a wall
Dec 14, 2018, 7:09 AM | Updated: 9:01 am
The IRS is using computer programs from when John F. Kennedy was president. Back when the tax rate on rich people was 91 percent. (File, Associated Press)
(File, Associated Press)
It’s official. During November, the federal government spent twice as much as it took in. Biggest monthly deficit on record.
Which is why Jesse Eisinger, who writes for ProPublica, says the time has come to let the IRS hire more auditors.
“The audit for the wealthy is down to 2.5 percent,” Eisinger said. “Really, what we are seeing is the rich not being audited at all, and the poor actually being audited more than people who make up to a million a year.”
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Eisenger says that as a result each year, close to half a trillion dollars in taxes go uncollected. And the reason he singles out rich people is not because they’re evil but because they’re paid differently.
“You and I pay our taxes from our employer,” Eisinger said. “We get a W2 and our taxes are taken out of each paycheck. The wealthy have partnerships, they have LLCs. The IRS doesn’t see all that. They don’t file that. So it’s much, much easier for them to evade taxes.”
But I see a possible solution. If we hired enough auditors to close the tax gap, and then replaced private insurance with a Medicare for All plan, together that could save about a trillion a year. So the deficit would vanish and we’d have $50 billion left over.
That’s enough to pay for two border walls with those golden doors. Made of actual gold! It’s a win-win. Instead of bickering, Chuck and Nancy and Donald could call for a “group hug.” While Mike Pence watches silently.
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