BRATTLEBORO — In a free presentation/discussion, “What's Wrong with American Taxes?: A Progressive View” certified public accountant Richard Witty will describe “design characteristics that should be in a tax system,” and where he believes “the American tax system is falling short.”
“The law is so complex, unstable, and unpredictable that it's impossible for the average taxpayer to know what the law is,” said Witty, who lives in Greenfield, Mass. and will speak at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St., at 8 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 6.
Witty will speak on that daunting aspect of the tax code, admitting the irony that he is advocating for a simpler tax system that doesn't require the participation of tax professionals like himself.
“In effect, the current tax code favors old wealth,” he said, noting the disparity between incomes earned passively from investments and incomes earned actively from work. “Someone with two kids who just has long-term capital gains and dividends income won't pay tax until $105,000,” he said.
In contrast, an employee or working entrepreneur will pay at least 15 percent tax in the form of Social Security taxes.
Calling it “an unintended consequence of the progressive tax system,” Witty will also discuss “tax spending,” another aspect of the tax code, where itemized deductions like contributions to nonprofit organizations will more greatly benefit those earning higher wages. He will also discuss the policy of taxing unemployment insurance, an exception to most of the tax code, and the reasons the government “has flipped the incentive to save in an IRA [Individual Retirement Account].”
“That's not so evil as it is confusing and counterintuitive,” he said.
Witty, who has previously given his talk in Greenfield and Amherst, Mass., said he wants to make speaking on the topic “a focus of my life,” adding that he is “hoping people will become informed contributors to a redesign of a tax law and have an educated understanding to present the issue to legislators.”
“The things I recommend cross the aisle, and the issue doesn't need to be partisan,” Witty said.
Witty can be reached for more information on the talk by email at [email protected].
“I'm very eager for questions,” he said.