> where they are suggesting any of these things >> Of course this is fantasy; lobbyists for CPAs and for attorneys would never support anyone who voted for thi

> where they are suggesting any of these things >> Of course this is fantasy; lobbyists for CPAs and for attorneys would never support anyone who voted for this kind of simplification. >> And, Congress would f* it up immediately by restarting the "let's use the tax code to reward our donors and punish our enemies" process. I think it's a bit defeatest to just say that it's just intrinsincly impossible for better things... but I'm maybe reading into those comments too harshly. They're arguing to rip out everything and replace it with a flat tax + a deduction. What I'm arguing instead is to do a line-by-line removal of exceptions and deductions, and don't try a "novel" flat tax (instead sticking to a tax with income brackets and different rates, that we _already have_), as it is a better system. And you get the advantage of the optics of "making the tax code simpler" rather than "replacing the tax code". A universe in which we just removed the number of IRS forms that exist is _roughly_ as good as the universe in which replaced all the forms with one form, except that removing the number of forms and still having a W2 would be much easier to migrate to, and doesn't involve nearly as much philosophical debate (even if the result is roughly equivalent). We don't need a novel solution here, we can just move more towards what other nations do (and where we are actually not that far from!)