Asag – flat tax on what?
Flat tax on wealth? So people like Jeff Bezos would have to sell X percent of their stock every year, thereby driving down the value of assets? Is there an exemption for the first X amount of wealth you have? Also, what are the standards for valuation? Do partnership interests get discounts? Apparently Donald Trump for various tax needs used one set of valuations and for borrowing needs used others.
Do you mean a flat tax on income? How is income defined? Can you deduct depreciation? If the value of property increases then why allow a deduction for depreciation? What about charity? Should that be deducted? How about income earned overseas? Also what about corporate income and dividends? Should both corporate income and dividends be taxed? What about contributions to tax deferred accounts? Also is any income exempted from tax? Do we allow deductions for State and Local Taxes, what about sales taxes on purchases? Do we allow people to deduct lavish business meals or stadium tickets? I mean when you get down to it, I can call a tax a flat tax and make it as regressive or progressive as I like via all sorts of shenanigans.
This reiterates my point that people reduce complex topics down to very simplistic black and white things. A flat tax in theory might sound fair to some or might sound easy, but in reality once you get past the words flat tax, it gets complicated.
As an aside, as to fairness… Is it fair for the Fed to have kept interest rates so low, which has helped propel real estate and various other assets to higher values benefitting the wealthy? Not looking for an answer as that question is rhetorical (many would argue the Fed’s actions have been necessary… but if the standard is necessary then why focus on idealistic concepts of fairness when it comes to tax), but rather just trying to show the question of fairness can be looked at in many different ways and I think anyone suggesting there is a clear answer as to what is fair, is being a bit daft.