As I said on another thread, to compensate for SALT, re-introduce the personal exemption and stretch the lowest bracket to cover an amount of income equal to that subject to FICA. Also, get rid of the 3rd, 4th and 5th brackets, which are just progressive, elitist sops to liberals. Don’t tax interest income, either.
Full disclosure, I would simply go to the 15-28 tax system Ronald Reagan had, with 15 covering all FICA income and eliminating SALT (red states subsidizing blue states) and Mortgage Interest deduction (renters subsidizing homeowners) and nearly all other deductions and tax credits. Same $12,000 standard deduction, with charity deduction and deduction for hardening assets against EMP ADDED to that and the personal and dependent exemptions on the same form, instead of the itemizing alternative BS. No interest income need be declared, either. Elimination of all 0bamacare taxes. Capital gains and dividends back down to 15 percent. 5 percent general tariff to replace the 20,000 or so individual tariffs we have now. 5 percent tax on foreign income and repatriation, individual and corporate (instead of 20 or 35). 5 percent “death tax”, as opposed to 45 percent, with the same generous exemption as before. 20 percent tax for both corporate and pass-through income, with immediate and full expensing for equipment, infrastructure and hardening against EMP. Same $18,000 tax-free allowance for 401(k) plans, instead of the $2,400 proposed in the House.
Dependent exemptions would include people other than children, if needed.
But of course, this is GOP-e and Trump we’re talking about here, so bend over?
“red states subsidizing blue states”
That is a misconception.
Far and away the blue states subsidize the red states, through increased Federal Income taxes, per capita AND in total.
Blue states pay in more than they receive back, and usually, red states pay in less than what they receive.
Generally blue states subsidize red states. Per capita and in total.