This year five states have enacted a single-rate personal income tax combined with tax cuts. Several other states are considering doing the same thing. They’re setting the stage for making a national flat tax a big issue in the 2024 presidential election.
This segment of What’s Ahead explains why the issue would resonate deeply with voters across the board. Everyone knows the current tax code is an incomprehensible cesspool of corruption.
The flat tax concept is straightforward. The current tax code would get junked. With the new code there would be generous exemptions for adults and children. Any income above the deductions would be taxed at a low, single rate. A family of four, for instance, would owe no federal tax on their first $52,800 of income. That’s it.
A flat tax must be designed so that everyone gets a cut.
Criticisms of the flat tax don’t hold water, and the moral case for it is overwhelming.