I am starting to comment at MinnPost Dave Camp's Tax Plan. It is a followup to MinnPost Hats off to Dave Camp.
I keep think tax simplification is never going to happen. What would all those CPAs, Tax Attourneys, IRS agents, etc do without the complicated tax code to ensure their continued employment? Thoughts?
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I always think of it as Hiram's rule. Tax simplification rarely happens because it doesn't benefit politically influential constituencies. Complications are introduced in the tax code because they benefit someone, who has both the political power to get them inserted, and to prevent their removal. I just don't think people are willing to give up some tax benefit which makes things a little messier but saves them significant money.
--Hiram
I am thinking it is more of a trust issue. Everyone thinks the new method will screw them while benefitting someone else. It seems the Liberals at MinnPost see it that way.
Republicans have worked for decades to undermine trust in our government. We are seeing now the results of their success. We have created a power vacuum at the heart of our democracy, a vacuum which is inevitably filled by the influence of people whose interests are far different from our own. We are told that government should not pick winners and losers, leaving that choice to people who will pick themselves as winners and the rest of as losers.
--Hiram
Oh Good Lord...
So the Democrats are supposedly innocent in this soap opera. The same folks who work to take money from one group of citizens and give it to the folks that vote for them. In essence buying themselves and their ideas support with our tax dollars.
I rarely have seen such rampant blatant conflict of interest in private enterprise or the Republican party.
Despite my well-known bias, based on long experience, in this case I prefer fixing the problem to fixing the blame. Camp's plan is a good start, but there are, IMHO, still better alternatives, with even higher hurdles from the protectors of the status quo-- namely the New Flat Tax proposed by Heritage (which has the same goals but may be even simpler still), and the FAIR tax, which eliminates the IRS altogether, meaning NO individual tax filings! It doesn't get much simpler than that, and it saves the country some $400 BIllion in compliance costs every year that could be better used elsewhere in the economy.
Still, like everybody says, every lobbyist in Washington is going to be against having their special ox gored, which OUGHT to be a prime reason for doing it.
Daily Caller Fair vs Flat
Blaze Fair vs Flat
Interestingly enough, the New Flat Tax shares many of the aspects of the FAIR tax, but still not enough to suit me. The FAIR tax actually incentivizes savings and capital formation, and gives me "free" Social Security reform, as well as doing wonders for our export businesses and economic growth, which the Flat Tax (at least the old one) does not.
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