“The only answer, needless to say, is to throw the entire mess in the trash can and replace it with a simple and fair flat tax.”
May I remind you that the so-called “Flat Tax” is still an income tax, and will require that the IRS stay in place? I can make the case that the IRS would be even more aggressive under the Flat Tax regime than it is today.
The FairTax, on the other hand, abolishes the IRS! It is true that a Federal agency would be stood up to monitor each state’s tax collection activities. However, the Feds would have no interaction with private citizens or businesses; they would only be able interact with state sales tax agencies.
A much leaner, cleaner, cheaper and, of great import, far less intrusive system.
See http://www.fairtax.org for more information.
A Flat Tax never stays flat.
Here’s the lasting solution:
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FAQs