[Pearls Before Swine]

Flat tax good, rate too low. I've heard different theories ranging from 17% to 23% on what the flat tax would need to be to cover current expenditures. Anything less, and people scream about services.

Also, if there is an exemption at the bottom of the scale, you get lots of cheating and lying all over again. You still have to have income tracking and income tax forms to take care of that group.

[DennisR]

If you do not have exemptions at the bottom (which I would recommend), you do not need to worry about that. If you make $100 a year, you send in $10. If you make a million, you send in $100,000. The reason you make everyone pay taxes is because you appreciate things more when you have to pay for them. Everyone benefits from defense, roads, and so forth, so everyone should contribute.

[DennisR]

I think we can all agree that the Feds spending about $8000 for every man, woman, and child in the country is just a wee bit too much. After defense and infrastructure, the responsibility of the Federal government drops off very quickly. So by having a 10% tax rate, we cut spending because we cut the amount of money available to the insatiable Federal government.

[ancient_geezer]

I've heard different theories ranging from 17% to 23% on what the flat tax would need to be to cover current expenditures.

Here's how rates come out for a flat individual/corporate income tax, based on maintaining constant levels of revenue to pay the nation's debts etc. (not including SS/Medicare payments)

http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/subject/vital.html

• "The chart below shows a hypothetical set of flat tax rates and allowances that would result in revenue neutrality. This model, produced by the Congressional Budget Office shows that all federal income tax revenues [SS/Medicare, or Federal Unemployment, excise taxes and tariffs unchanged] could be fully replaced by a system with a flat tax rate of 13.1 percent and no deductions. Allowing total deductions for a family of four to reach $36,800 (more than double the amount allowed in 1995) would require a 19.9 percent rate."

Joint Economic Committee

Revenue Neutral Tax Rates for Alternative Allowances and Exemptions Under a Flat Tax

Standard Allowances	Option 1	Option 2	Option 3	Option 4	Option 5
Single	$13,100	$13,100	$ 6,550	$ 6,550	$0
Joint	$26,200	$26,200	$13,100	$13,100	$0
Head of Household	$17,200	$17,200	$ 8,600	$ 8,600	$0
Dependent Exemption	$ 5,300	$ 2,650	$ 5,300	$ 2,650	$0
Revenue Neutral Tax Rate	19.9%	19.4%	16.8%	16.3%	13.1%

Source: Congressional Budget Office, 1995.

If it were to be a Flat individual income tax alone(without personal exemptions, or any deductions), the rate would be the effective total federal tax rate with respect to gross family income.

Total federal taxes as a percentage of gross family income is 23.5% (taxfoundation)

[aabbccddeeff]

If the current income tax was converted to
a "what if" flat tax, what would the percentage be?

Basically if you convert the whole income tax population into
a mythical one taxpayer, what is the tax rate they pay based on last year's numbers.< Br>

[coloradan]

Flat tax good, rate too low. I've heard different theories ranging from 17% to 23% on what the flat tax would need to be to cover current expenditures. Anything less, and people scream about services.

Current expenditures are far and away too high, and most are grossly unconstitutional.

The country managed to survive for a century with an income tax of zero, and was then introduced with a "guarateed" maximum cap of 4%. Although the direct taxes are now about 20-30%, the things people buy with after-tax money were produced by tax-paying companies, and for which sales tax is collected, and people even have to spend after-tax income to pay for income-tax compliance, such as tax software, tax return preparation services, and so forth... I think the real tax rate ends up being something like 70% when you calculate how much of your labor pays directly for goods that you wish to buy, the balance is taxes somewhere or other.

An effective tax rate of 70% is clearly too high.

[RightOnline]

"Flat tax good, rate too low. I've heard different theories ranging from 17% to 23% on what the flat tax would need to be to cover current expenditures. Anything less, and people scream about services."

Let 'em scream, then. It's about time that we focus on Government paying for what Government is supposed to pay for.

Ten percent is all God asks (aka "tithing"). How on Earth could our stupid, wasteful Government ask for more? Too damned many with their hands out........and too few contributing.

No, my friend........let 'em whine. Ten percent it is (still FAR more than the original income tax rate, BTW.......look it up), and any increase would require a two-thirds super-majority vote in BOTH houses.