There has been a lot of discussion about a flat tax and there are advantages to it. For one thing, it’s a lot easier. Current tax laws would fill a wall full of bookshelves and many of them are contradictory.

Another frequently mentioned advantage is fairness. Everyone would be paying the same taxes as everyone else. A lot of people though have doubts about this one. The argument goes that if two people, one poor and the other rich are both paying 20% of their income in taxes, it ISN’T really the same. Most of the rich person’s income is disposable. That 20% may be taking away his vacation in Hawaii while 20% from the poor person is taking food off his table. The progressive tax system was supposed to address this, but has only created problems of its own.

My idea is a modified flat tax. A basic principal is that we’re not going to take the roof over someone’s head or the food off their table. What I propose is a standard deduction that covers the basic cost of living and should be adjusted annually to keep up with inflation. I’m thinking of something in the neighborhood of $20,000 and suppose we have a taxation rate of, say, 50% (these numbers are just of the top of my head, obviously research would be needed to come up with more accurate numbers. This is just an example of how it would work). The guy earning $20,000 or less would pay 0% after standard deduction. Leave the guy alone, he’s just trying to keep body and soul together. Someone else making $60,000 would wind up paying 30% and for the guy bringing in $1,000,000 wouldn’t seem like much, but then again, he’s still living pretty comfortably compared to the other 2.

You have the simplicity, and I think, the fairness that most people are looking for in a flat tax.

What do you think of this idea or comment?
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I disagree