It’s easy: simple, honest tax reform
The Republicans are intent on touting the $1,200 tax break for the middle class, so why not pass a tax bill that does that? We don’t need 400 pages of shady special deals for the already rich to give the middle class $1,200. Instead, we can do the whole tax reform thing on one page that everybody can read and understand.
All taxpayers, whose income is reflected on either W-2’s or 1099’s will have an extra line after taxes due on their tax form that adds a $1,200 credit. They either pay a reduced amount or receive a check from the government if the final value is negative. That’s it — one short paragraph that guarantees what the Republicans say they really want for the middle class.
Paying for it is equally straightforward. Congress simply asks the IRS to identify the tax loopholes most often used by the rich to avoid paying taxes, along with an estimate of the taxes lost for each loophole. Congress then adds a second paragraph to indicate that those loopholes specified in the following addendum have been permanently canceled in order to make the tax saving for the middle class deficit-neutral. The addendum then lists the loopholes and the estimated amount to be saved from each. Done.
Simple, honest tax reform for the middle class, just like Congress promised. That is, unless the $1,200 for the middle class was just a smokescreen for something else.
Richard Wallace
Hardeeville
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This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "It’s easy: simple, honest tax reform."