Revisiting the Flat Tax
Cal Thomas
Posted: Aug 25, 2022 12:01 AM
The next time Republicans control all three branches of government they may wish to visit an old idea - the flat tax. When magazine publisher and Republican Steve Forbes ran for president in 1996, the flat tax was at the heart of his campaign.
Forbes lost the nomination to Bob Dole, who lost the election to Bill Clinton. Coupled with a serious reduction in wasteful and unnecessary spending, a flat tax could revive the economy for decades to come.
Forbes proposed a 17 percent flat tax with generous exemptions of $13,000 for each adult and $5,000 for each child. He proposed eliminating "unfair double taxation of personal savings, Social Security, pensions, capital gains, and dividend income (effectively turning) all savings and investment accounts into Roth IRAs: You deposit after-tax income, let your money multiply in value with compound interest, and then withdraw your money tax-free."
Forbes also wanted to erase the "The unfair alternative minimum tax and 'death' taxes, calling them "regressive taxes that hurt working families, small business owners and especially farmers who want to pass their farms on to their children."
There was much more, including necessary reforms in Social Security and Medicare, but the flat tax was key.
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https://townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2022/08/25/revisiting-the-flat-tax-n2612200
