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The tax code can't ever be simplified... simplification is effectively equivalent to eliminating all the various tax breaks that people are eligible for. A simp
by NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
The tax code can't ever be simplified... simplification is effectively equivalent to eliminating all the various tax breaks that people are eligible for. A simple (perhaps the simplest) one sentence tax code is "everyone pays 10% of gross income"... this is considered regressive. As you add to the tax code to make it less painful, it grows more complicated.
Some large fraction of the population effectively pays no federal income tax at all. The rules for exempting them and discounting them to the point of $0 owed alone accounts for some significant portion of the tax code.
- phpisthebest 3y agoYou can make a progressive simple tax. The problem is not progressive taxation, the complexity comes in when government attempts social engineering via the tax code by incentivize behavior they deem "good" and penalizing behavior they deem bad i.e tax credits for EV's , children, different taxes for married vs unmarried persons, etc etc
- NoMoreNicksLeft 3y agoIf you make it progressive enough to satisfy popular opinion, then you'll have something alot like we have now. The social engineering, as you call it... those are what people think of as "fairness". No one's going to win office simplifying that stuff away.