Taxing the IRS Out of Existence

As scandal engulfs the Internal Revenue Service, there is a growing chorus of Americans calling for the abolition of the oppressive tax agency.  However, trying to rid the country of the entrenched IRS bureaucracy will be harder than finding one enlightened Democrat willing to support the idea.

There is one sure way to loosen the choke-hold the IRS has on Americans.  Pass a law instituting a flat tax that simplifies the tax code, dissolves payroll taxes, erases loopholes and levies taxes more fairly.  By streamlining tax law, the IRS will effectively be neutered.

No longer will there be contentious IRS audits over arcane deductions. There won't be any.  IRS agents won't quibble with taxpayers over progressive tax rates.  There will be a single rate.  The IRS won't spend all its time investigating loopholes.  Tax gimmicks won't exist.

Under a flat tax, the IRS would be reduced to a simple collection agency.  Their power to bully, harass and coerce will vanish because their jobs will be administrative in nature.  Gone will be their broad sweeping regulatory authority to act as brown-shirted snoopers.

It's an issue that has enjoyed broad public support, even before the latest IRS brouhaha.  In 2011, Pew Research found that 6 in 10 Americans (59%) believe the current tax system is so flawed that Congress should completely change it.  Most Americans (51%) hold a negative view of the IRS, Pew reported last year.  Imagine if the survey were done today.

A flat tax which renders the IRS impotent is a winning issue that Republicans should shift to the top of their mid-term agenda. A flat tax plan has received some support in both the House and Senate.  But the nascent attempts have often been only slightly less complex than the current tax code.

To gain wide public support, the flat tax proposal should be straightforward.  The plan should exempt the first $20,000 of earned income to insure the very poor will pay no taxes.  There would be no tax brackets.  Every tax payer would pay an equal percentage on their earnings.

Tax breaks or deductions would be ended.  At the same time, the tax policy would eliminate all double taxation, including the dissolution of the death tax, capital gains tax and taxes on dividends.  There would be no levy on savings, since individuals would have already paid the tax when it was earned.

There have been a myriad of ideas about a flat tax percentage.  Some, including Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, have suggested 17 percent. Other tax policy organizations have recommended rates in the 20-25 percent range.  Arguments over the percentage shouldn't derail the drive for tax reform.

The only serious opposition would spring from the 47 percent of individuals who pay no federal income tax and the Democrats who want to enlarge that number.  These scalawags prefer to let the rest of their fellow Americans carry the tax burden while they contribute zero to running their government.

The benefits of a flat tax far outweigh the downside.  The plan would offer Americans a transparent tax policy they can understand.  It would generate economic growth, boost the economy and encourage investment.  These are all tangible benefits that could be measured.

Republicans have a window of opportunity to make a heroic effort to institute a flat tax.  The disgraced IRS is widely unpopular and tax reform has enthusiastic support.  This is an winning issue that Republicans need to seize before its too late.