April 13, 2006

AN ARMEY OF ONE:

Imagine an e-z tax season, over in minutes: A flat tax would end the cycle of political favors in Washington. (Dick Armey, 4/14/06, CS Monitor)

Nine countries around the world are currently enjoying the benefits of a flat tax. A flat tax would allow a personal deduction for everyone so families could feed, clothe, and shelter themselves before paying the government. A family of four would get four such deductions. Any income anyone earned above that would be taxed at the same rate. No other exemptions. No loopholes. No mess. We could file our taxes in minutes.

A flat tax would also treat all income, individual and business, equally before the law and eliminate double taxation. The politically connected couldn't slide their way through exemptions. Americans wouldn't have to deal with the fear of becoming a felon for not understanding a complex code.


Make him Treasury Secretary and tell him passing this is his only job.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 13, 2006 7:32 PM
Comments

good luck ditching mortgage interest as a deduction. eu countries have a flat tax rate, so go there and see how it works out.

Posted by: toe at April 13, 2006 7:52 PM

Eastern Europe's emerging economies do. It works rather well.

Posted by: oj at April 13, 2006 8:01 PM

Toe's correct - whenever the flat tax comes up the deductions, particularly ones for mortgages and local taxes, prevent the discussion from going any further. Nevermind the efficiencies the flatter tax would bring.

To OJ's point - Bush has now had several mediocre Treasury Secretary's. There were rumours Snow was on his way out. Bush should get someone dynamic to get either tax reform or SS reform back on the front burner.

Posted by: AWW at April 13, 2006 9:22 PM

As much as I would appreciate the opportunity to flip my financial arrangements on a dime to accomodate this whimsical change in fiscal policy, the fact is that the potential $7000 tax increase that this represents is a bit more of a challenge than I would choose to take on at this point in time. Oh, but the $500,000 tax cut that Steve Forbes would get is more than enough compensation for my troubles. Never mind. Forget that I even mentioned it.

Posted by: HT at April 14, 2006 12:46 AM

Flat Tax still doesn't reach the off-the-books economy; Fair Tax does.

Posted by: Lou Gots at April 14, 2006 6:31 AM

HT:

The point is that unless you make the tax code less progressive the white middle class will eat taxes like the Monster eats cookies.

Posted by: oj at April 14, 2006 6:34 AM
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