【正文】 t (Pub. L. No. 9734, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 172). The most sweeping tax changes since world war ii were enacted in the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This bill was signed into law by President ronald reagan and was designed to equalize the tax treatment of various assets, eliminate tax shelters, and lower marginal rates. Conservatives wanted the act to provide a single, low tax rate that could be applied to everyone. Although this single, flat rate was not included in the final bill, tax rates were reduced to 15 percent on the first $17,850 of ine for singles and $29,750 for married couples, and set at 28 to 33 percent on remaining ine. Many deductions were repealed, such as a deduction available to twoine married couples that had been used to avoid the marriage penalty (a greater tax liability incurred when two persons filed their ine tax return as a married couple rather than as individuals). Although the personal exemption exclusion was increased, an exemption for elderly and blind persons who itemize deductions was repealed. In addition, a special capital gains rate was repealed, as was an investment tax credit that had been introduced in 1962 by President john f. kennedy. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, the first budget and tax act enacted during the Clinton administration, was vigorously debated, and passed with only the minimum number of necessary votes. This law provided for ine tax rates of 15, 28, 31, 36, and percent on varying levels of ine and for the taxation of social security ine if the taxpayer receives other ine over a certain level. In 2001 Congress enacted a major ine tax cut at the urging of President george w. bush. Over the course of 11 years the law reduces marginal ine tax rates across all levels of ine. The 36 percent rate will be lowered to 33 percent, the 31 percent rate to 28 percent, the 28 percent rate to 25 percent. In addition, a new bottom 10 percent rate was created. Since the early 1980s, a flatrate tax system rather than the graduated bracketed method has been proposed. (The graduated bracketed method is the one that has been used since graduated taxes were introduced: the percentage of tax differs based on the amount of taxable ine.) The flatrate system would impose one rate, such as 20 percent, on all ine and would eliminate special deductions, credits, and exclusions. Despite firm support by some, the flatrate tax has not been adopted in the United States. Regardless of the changes made by legislators since 1913, the basic formula for puting the amount of tax owed has remained basically the same. To determine the amount of ine tax owed, certain deductions are taken from an individual39。s gross ine to arrive at an adjusted gross ine, from which additional deductions are taken to arrive at the taxable ine. Once the amount of taxable ine has been determined, tax rate charts determine the exact amount of tax owed. If the amount of tax owed is less than the amount already paid through tax prepayment or the withholding of taxes from paychecks, the taxpayer is entitled to a refund from the IRS. If the amount of tax owed is more than what has already been paid, the taxpayer must pay the difference to the IRS. Calculating the gross ine of restaurant employees whose ine is partially derived from gratuities left by customers has led to disputes with the IRS and employers over how much they should contribute in federal insurance contribution act (fica) taxes. Although customers pay these tips directly to employees, federal law deems the tips to have been wages paid by the employer for FICA tax purposes. Employers are imputed to have paid large sums of money they never handled and for which they no way of ascertaining the exact amount. The Supreme Court, inUnited States v. Fior D39。Italia, 536 . 238, 122 S. Ct. 2117, 153 L. Ed. 2d 280 (2002), upheld the IRS aggregate method of reporting tip ine. Instead of requiring the IRS to make individual determinations of unreported tips for each employee when calculating FICA tax, the Court held that the IRS could make employers report their gross sales on a monthly statement to help determine tip ine. Employees also must report their tip ine monthly on a form. The IRS then uses these two pieces of information to calculate what the employer needs to contribute in FICA tax.