Exactly.
“Rich” people are the most mobile. They can move out of the state, out of the country and then they will pay NO taxes to the US. So much for Obama’s “brilliant” ideas.
“They can move out of the state, out of the country and then they will pay NO taxes to the US.”
FYI, as long as they are still citizens of the USA, the IRS will hound them across the planet for their income taxes. If they renounce US citizenship, then the IRS can still come after them for TEN YEARS. If they are worth more than some amount ($10M, I think) at the time they renounce, the IRS will treat them as if they DIED and charge the 55% estate tax immediately, then still hound them for the ten years for taxes on any new income.
It is practically slavery — the IRS really does think it is all THEIR money and we have only temporary control of it. As important as flattening tax rates is, wiping out these kinds of laws is even more important. Think of the wasted effort involved in an entire industry devoted to minimizing tax burdens with trusts, foundations, corporate shells, money-losing tax shelters, etc. All that would go away with a flat tax that specifically outlawed the exclusion, exemption, discounting of any income. Counting the 47% of people who pay no federal income tax, and all the corporate income taxes paid, the total federal income tax revenue is less than 10% of all personal income. Meaning we could eliminate the corporate income tax entirely, tax that income when it reaches shareholders as regular income, and the flat rate would only need to be 10% to raise the same revenue. All this demagoguery to “Tax the Rich” is really so a majority can pay less than 10%.