Quote:
Originally Posted by Rococo
Flat tax is really a horrible idea, pretty much for the reason Ikes states. I honestly think that anyone who supports a flat tax is (a) a bad person; (b) dumb; or (c) hasn't given the issue much thought. And the idea that you need a flat tax in order to simplify the tax code is a complete red herring.
Or someone who actually pays a huge $$ amount in taxes because close to 100% of their income is W2. A flat tax with a high enough income exemption threshold (say something like $50k per adult) and the elimination of most (if not all) income deductions, is not a stupid idea. The real question is would it actually generate enough revenue to pay for all the things the government now provides that were never part of its mandate when the income tax was introduced.
But frankly this discussion is most likely irrelevant as there is way too much incentive for politicians to continue to pile on exemptions to all sorts of voter groups (rich and poor alike) and they would never collectively vote to give away that power. Just listen to any campaign speech and it is almost impossible to not hear about some form of "tax credit" or "tax exemption" of some kind.
Bottom line, it is in politicians best interests to keep the tax code as complicated as possible.