Comments on: AMT as a Stealth Flat Tax

By: Mr. K.

Mr. K. — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 02:30:22 +0000

As far as I see it, what is considered "welfare" depends on what tax bracket you're in. The middle class mortgage tax deduction is basically welfare entitlement. So is the reduction in capital gains taxes. If you really want a fair tax system all of these "loopholes" need to be reduced or elimintated. I'm doubtful that a true flat tax along with elimination of sales taxes would balance out to be fair, but there are a lot of people who have plenty of money to pay taxes that get away with paying less their fare share because of deductions. We should be saying, if you make enough money to pay taxes you should be proud. Right now everybody just tries to avoid it and get away with paying nothing or getting a refund. There is no sense of responsibility.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 23:14:28 +0000

Heh. I'm not sure I'm a "feed the beast" theorist. I think of federal spending much the way Cap Weinberger thought about arms control: "We build, they build. We stop, they build." Either way, Congress is spending more than they take in!

By: pgl

pgl — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 23:08:50 +0000

Nice post - much of which I add (favorably) to my Angrybear post today. Forgive me if I did not include the last sentence as I'm not one of those feed (starve) the beast theorists.

By: H Melli

H Melli — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 17:47:03 +0000

What I looked forward to in a flat tax was simplification and the AMT does not provide it. I still have to calculate the 1040 and all it's attached schedules and at the end then pay the highest of the two calculations. This is a waste of everyone's time.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 16:04:45 +0000

Haudidoody: Whatever the original intent of the home interest deduction, the reason it has survived is because it has a huge middle class constituency. People made purchasing decisions--in most cases, the biggest one they'll ever make--based on that deductability. It would be quite injust to simply repeal it; at best we could phase it out for future purchases.

By: Haudidoody

Haudidoody — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 16:01:27 +0000

The mortgage interest deduction was not set up to encourage people to buy a home. It's a leftover from times when all interest was deductible. It should be done away with as it does little more than artificially increase the price of homes.

It wouldn't still be around but for the lobbying efforts of certain industries.

By: Tano

Tano — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 15:58:48 +0000

As Drum points out, there is a fundamental difference between tax exemptions and the tax rate.

Tax simplification, the elimination of exemptions and loopholes is a wholly separate issue from determining what the rate structure should be. Inherint to the Forbes flat-tax scam was the effort to sell the virtues of a simplified system while essentially shifting a huge tax burden from the wealthy onto the middle class, by lowering the higher rates for upper brackets down to a single common rate. In any revenue-neutral implementation, this can only mean a tax increase for the average taxpayer and a tax cut for the better off. Nelson seems to want to take this scamming to the next level - lets put it in place without even having to vote on it.

By: Conservative Outpost

Conservative Outpost — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 14:53:38 +0000

Daily Summary... NEWS: - FCC Will Not Reconsider $550,000 'Wardrobe Malfunction' Fine - Spies Are Called Essential - Oral Arguments Today in Same-Sex Marriage Case - Reid Accepted Free Boxing Tickets - General in Iraq orders "values training" - SC House OKs......

By: yetanotherjohn

yetanotherjohn — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 14:44:01 +0000

If the left is so upset about NSA listening programs, why are they so happy about the massive invasion of privacy involved in our current tax system? The more I look at it, I think doing away with the income tax and going to a national sales tax makes the most sense. If the poor need a rebate, then they can disclose the personal information required to get the rebate. The rich who consume more will pay more in taxes.

By: Multiple Mentality

Multiple Mentality — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 13:08:43 +0000

It’s a tax cut, actually...

In the end, various government agencies have already taken more than 35% of my annual income. I’d rather just pay 25-30% on all purchases and leave it there. Or pay those taxes on my income alone. It would be a tax cut.

......

By: Wizbang Bomb Squad

Wizbang Bomb Squad — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 13:07:46 +0000

It's a tax cut, actually...

On Outside the Beltway, James Joyner writes about the Alternative Minimum Tax. In his piece, he says: For the federal government to take over a quarter of one's income off the top, with no deductions, is confiscatory. While I agree......

By: Bhoe

Bhoe — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 12:47:12 +0000

So, the lure isnâ��t so much a flat tax but a massive tax hike.

Of course, an above-board adoption of the flat tax--on the model proposed by Denny Hastert--would also be a massive tax hike for most people.

By: Fact or Fiction

Fact or Fiction — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

http://intelligentdiscontent.com/2006/09/23/burns-supports-a-sales-tax-for-all-americans/ http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2006/10/22/gravel-fair-tax/ http://praguewriter.typepad.com/praguewriter/2006/06/flattax_and_fla.html http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2006/06/amt_as_a_stealth_flat_tax/ http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2006/06/flat_rate_rerun.html

By: Spam filterning 101

Spam filterning 101 — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Beltway - Jerry Seper asks Is D.C. ready for terrorist attack? in today s Washington Times . His premise: The city can t even deal with routine traffic accidents, how could it handle a coordinated terrorist strike? Two unrelated traffic accidentsAMT as a Stealth Flat Tax Outside Beltway - University of Maryland economist Robert H. Nelson argues that the controversial Alternative Minimum Tax is a good thing because it is, in a sense, a stealth version of the flat tax. The AMT is viewed by many as a bad thing. Yet,

By: Angry Bear

Angry Bear — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

on the average wage earners but many Republicans would. The problem is that these Republican politicians and the hacks that support them such as those who write for the National Review simply dont have the integrity to say so. Update:James Joyner adds to the debate over the AMT as a substitute for a flat tax: First, no Republican that I know of advocates a flat tax in the 26-28 percent range; most talk about one between 10 to 15 percent. For the federal government to take over a quarter of