TaxChoice

Economy
1

Creating a website where individuals can apportion their taxes to specific government programs or sectors.

Conceptual Framework for a Tax Apportionment Website

Platform Name: TaxChoice

Objective: To allow taxpayers to direct their tax contributions towards government programs or initiatives they support, fostering a more personalized and participatory taxation experience. Fix the failure of the house of passing a budget. Allow the house to organize categories and recommendations on how much that program needs to survive being cut and goals that would allow that program to do more.

Features:

  1. User Registration and Verification:

    • Secure sign-up process requiring personal identification for tax purposes.
    • Integration with existing tax filing systems or Social Security numbers for verification.

  2. Tax Calculator:

    • Before apportionment, users see a breakdown of their total tax liability based on income, deductions, etc., similar to existing tax calculators.

  3. Apportionment Interface:

    • Category Selection: Users can choose from predefined categories like Education, Defense, Healthcare, Infrastructure, etc.
    • Sub-categories: Each major category could have sub-options (e.g., under Education: Public Schools, College Grants, etc.).
    • Percentage Allocation: Users allocate percentages of their tax to these categories, ensuring the total equals 100%.

  4. Information and Transparency:

    • Program Details: Descriptions of what each program does, current funding, and its impact.
    • Budget Impact Tool: Shows how much of the federal budget goes to each category, helping users understand their contributions’ scale.

  5. Submission and Confirmation:

    • After allocation, users confirm their choices. This would then be reflected in their tax return or through a separate filing process.

  6. Privacy and Security:

    • Implement state-of-the-art encryption for data protection.
    • no law should be written in a way to descrimate against someone based on their contributions to a program.

  7. Feedback Loop:

    • Allow users to see how their allocations might have been used, possibly through annual reports or updates on project statuses funded by their tax contributions.

  8. Educational Resources:

    • Provide educational content on how government spending works, the importance of balanced allocations, and the impact of individual contributions.

Potential Benefits:

  • Engagement: Increased civic engagement as people feel more connected to government spending.
  • Transparency: Greater government transparency and accountability in spending.
  • Personalization: Allows taxpayers to feel their contributions are aligned with their values.
  • **Accountability: forces programs to be transparent and do good in they want to keep being funded.
2 Likes
2

I think with modification, this could be really cool. The issue is that 50% of the taxes are paid by the rich, this could give them even more power to choose what is important. Most of them are woke, or pretend to be so they don’t get canceled, I could just see all of their tax dollars going to “Turtle Rehabilitation in California” or “Trans Surgery for Pencils” or some other silly thing. Then since they have all the money, they get all the influence over our representatives… they pick where the money goes and what the focus is. If that obstacle can be overcome, I like this idea.

1 Like
3

This policy has been something I’ve been a fan of, in one form or another for quite some time. I think its a way to transition to a more direct democracy. Its true that those that pay more in taxes will have greater influence on programs. I do not think this unfair. I do think, however, that the list of programs that could potentially be supported should be voted upon. Either directly or through Congress.

The fact that we collect taxes in the first place from most everyone within the U.S. is a declaration that greater direct democracy is achievable.

Of importance to me is that only individuals should be able to directly aportion a portion of their taxes. Corporations on the other hand should have NO ability to do so.