Flat tax.  aka “Fiar tax” - where it’s a simple x% and everyone pays the same percentage of income tax.  Or the idea of a national sales tax - so tax becomes comsumption based instead of income based.

Both of these are great ideas and definitely make much more sense than our current system.  [We can argue that later, it's not the point of this short article]

Here’s why it’ll never happen:

Taxes; specifically, the right of congress to levy taxes, or even more specifically the right of congress to change how they levy taxes.

They can control how much you pay in taxes.  And they can adjust that amount (up or down) simply by saying “aye”.

How much power does that give them?

All the power in the world.

It literally gives them puppet strings attached to every single producer in America.  To use a Rand-like metaphor, it’s as if congress has a throttle control attached directly to YOUR motive engine.

In the recent 2008 electin, ALL the candidates included campaign promisses stating what they would do with taxes.  Obama promised to lower them for some, and raise them for others.  McCain promised the exact same thing, only for different groups.

They BOTH were essentially buying votes with the tax rate as currency.

A flat, fair, consumption (whatever you want to call it) tax would take that power away from Congress.  No longer would they hold such influence over American producers.  No longer would the rich fear retribution from them, no longer would the poor expect concessions from them.  The power of Congress would be greatly reduced with such a tax.

Political candidates, of all parties, could no longer use “tax breaks” as a campaign item.  What would they have left to talk about?  Sure would be nice to find out.

How could class warfare exist if we all paid the same % of our earnings?  If we all payed taxes based on what we bought, how then could a poor apartment dweller claim “unfair” against a wealthy multi-house owner?

These are just a few of the results (or as I like to call them: benefits) of a flat or consumption based tax system.  And they are the exact reasons why it will never be passed.

Very few in power are willing to legislate a reduction in that power.

DMobile Economic, Values congress, Economic, Taxes