flat tax: good or bad? I say it's good

[mckitterick]

Saw this in an article today: "...right-wing business panaceas ... that Americans have balked at, such as a flat tax on personal and corporate income..."

What makes a flat tax right-wing (or left-wing, for that matter)? Assuming said flat tax has a floor of whatever is considered a livable wage (which is below taxating level in the current, wacked-out system), what's wrong with such a tax?

I could see fiscal libertarians not liking it because it taxes high-income people more -- though the rate is the same -- and fiscal liberals (odd how "liber" is in both...) not liking it because it might prevent middle-income people from getting a lot of the tax breaks they get today -- but surely high-income people find more tax breaks! I can also see the IRS not liking it, because it would put them out of a job! But I doubt many people would cry for them.

So why not do it? I think Steve Forbes was the most recent person to push such an idea, so is it anti-Forbes-ism? Imagine the savings in tax costs (the IRS isn't free, my friends) and pain: You just pay your taxes via your employer and never need to worry about being short at the end of the year.

Where's the devil's advocate here?

Chris

Comments

Re: no flat tax

[geekmom.livejournal.com]

There's no such thing as both a tax cut for everyone and increased tax revenue overall. The tax comes from somewhere, and in the case of the flat tax, that usually means the middle class. You're just re-slicing the pie.

While I'll agree that a simplified tax system would be much easier to manage, and maybe there's some flat graduated system that wouldn't increase the tax rate for the middle class, by eliminating tax breaks, you also eliminate any tax incentives for charity contributions, home ownership, IRA savings, continued education, and scores of other things.

I'm in favor of just working with our current system to adjust it, rather than scrapping it and starting with something else.

Re: no flat tax

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Sure -- the IRS consumes huge amounts of cash to support itself and its activities. Anyone have the figures off hand? You know it's more than 10%, which is a highly efficient organization.

Chris