Quote Originally Posted by Tradd View Post
I think the first thing that needs to be done is closing a lot of the loopholes and maybe even doing away with a lot of deductions.

One deduction I wonder about is the charitable one. I never take it, because for me to itemize as a single with no dependents doesn't make financial sense. For you average income folks, does the charitable deduction make much of a difference for you tax-wise, or is this something that only really benefits higher income people?
If you have enough deductions to make itemizing worthwhile, yes, it can make a difference even for lower-income folks, especially if you tithe. This year was an ugly tax year for me: I lost my home to a fraudulent loan, so goodbye mortgage tax deduction. Lost my health insurance, so goodbye to self-employed premium deduction. Had to liquidate IRA funds to pay basic bills. "Income" from settling a debt I couldn't afford to pay in full (and two more to go - even if I could find the money to settle, I couldn't afford the taxes). Taxes on unemployment income... the list goes on. I made less this year than any year in the last decade, yet more in taxes. Ouch.