"But closing loopholes has been on the conservative wishlist (simplifying the tax code) for decades."
It's one thing to close loopholes- if you get reduced rates. But where are the reduced rates? We can't keep relying on nebulous promises in the future.
he said the party is open to “increased revenue . . . as the byproduct of a growing economy, energized by a simpler, cleaner, fairer tax code, with fewer loopholes, and lower rates for all.”
Now, I expect the GOP will bargain if Obama is open to any kind of meaningful entitlement reform. Don't know what form that will take. Will we get 100% of what we want? (which is of course what FR wants but of course negotiations don't usually work that way). We'll see.
Working people have nothing they can deduct now except Union Dues, uniforms and Mortgage interest.
We got a 10-10-10 rate cut under Reagan, it was touted as thirty percent but not true.
100-10% =90
90-10%=81
81-10% = 72.9
Effective cut = 27%
Working stiffs lost nearly all breaks making it hard to file anything other than a standard short form. That is why tax the rich is such an effective meme.