This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Here is a simpler, more sensible, two-step tax plan that, while still progressive, may actually prove beneficial to society:
Step one: Eliminate all deductions, credits and loopholes for everyone.
Step two: Institute tax brackets that treat all earners, regardless of household status, as individual earners, thus eliminating the "marriage penalty."
The first income tax bracket rate of 10 percent would include all income up to $100,000. The second tax bracket rate of 20 percent would include all income from $101,000-$500,000.
The third tax bracket rate of 30 percent would include all income from $501,000-$1,000,000. The fourth tax bracket rate of 50 percent would include all income from $1,000,001-$5,000,000.
The fifth and final tax bracket rate of 75 percent would include all income above $5,000,001.
This plan would benefit society. Everyone would have some skin in the game. The top 1-percenters in Hollywood and the media would finally pay their "fair share."
Kris Buckner
Park City