December 1, 2003
STEVE FORBES WINS:
US moves - quietly - toward a flat tax (CS Monitor, 12/01/03)
Without much public debate or even awareness, the United States is heading toward an almost flat tax.That means the middle class will pour nearly as large a share of its income into tax coffers as millionaires and billionaires do. Throw in another tax cut along the lines of the two successfully supported by President Bush, and the middle class could actually pay a little more.
That change would reverse decades of US policy and constitute a major victory for some conservatives who have long advocated a flat tax.
"Another significant tax cut could be enough to eliminate progressivity from the US tax system," says Brian Roach, an economist at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., and author of a new analysis on what citizens really pay to all levels of government - federal, state, and local.
It's a start, but even better would be to switch to taxing consumption, instead of income. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 1, 2003 6:34 AM
So called progressive taxes are any illusion. From the viewpoint of the economy as a whole the only rate that makes a difference is the top rate. In our system the top rate is reached so quickly that intermediate rates are meaningless. Right now the most important tax is the AMT. Call me up when they amend that bad boy.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at December 1, 2003 11:09 AM