Yea - a necessary evil. I'd love to see a flat tax without deductions - even if it's graduated, it would eliminate the common cheating engaged in by so many.

They're necessary to allow for shared distribution of risk and burden, as well as to provide common services. Real key is to keep the tax money going towards useful services instead of pet projects

Using money as currency will be the down fall of humans.

I love being over taxed for the 47% or the country that pay nothing in personal income taxes. half my checks gone every week, good times!

I wouldn't mind paying them if I didn't know about all the wealthy corporations getting out of it. I'm self-employed and barely make anything, I shouldn't have to pull the weight of the country more than Wal-Mart or Bank of America!
Not to mention I don't agree with so much of what the money will be spent on.

I strongly agree that taxes ARE the price we pay for living in a civilized society. I have NO problem paying taxes at all. It my civil responsibility.

I think some deductions are necessary, especially for the working poor and the middle class. We need them to live even a moderately healthy lifestyle.

There should be NO deductions for millionaires and up or for corporations, they have more than enough than they need even without the thievery they call corporate deductions.

I think the major corporations need to be taxed a lot higher than the middle class and the working poor. Also actors/actresses that avoid paying taxes make me so irritated, you made millions and don't want to pay taxes when those that make hardly nothing have to. Frustrating.

Our tax system is all F'd up. Everyone seems to be engaged in a game of class warfare instead of focusing on the wasteful spending and excessive debt burden we are dumping on our children and grand children. The politicians need to actually work together to develop a plan or we must wake up and throw them out!

If our government would learn how to manage our money we would all have more for ourselves, I like the flat tax idea with no deductions too many loopholes. Living in California we are all broke, and so is our state government.

Since we're way beyond general philosophy...

The #1 problem with the US government — and presumably with many, if not most, state governments — is that they are bought and paid for by moneyed interests. No one can get elected without soliciting and accepting huge sums of money, mostly from large, "deep-pocket" contributors. Once in office, elected officials vote in accordance with the wishes of their largest "donors" something like 90% of the time. And that's true for BOTH major parties. It's the cynical person's "golden rule": those who have the gold, make the rules.

The result of this, in terms of tax and spending policy, is that most tax policy, and spending, is designed to benefit those who need it LEAST, but who can best afford to buy access and influence.

I would LOVE to see an end to the many deductions and loopholes that benefit only a tiny fraction of the People, as well as the subsidies that tiny fraction receives, and also to their exemptions to rules the rest of us have to follow. Until we find a way to return the power where it belongs — The People — the only meaningful changes we can expect are going to be in entirely the wrong direction.

there are 2 things in life that are certain taxes and death