Correct, 12% would result in a huge increase in tax intake because with the low rate comes the elimination of deductions except for the standard deduction that has always been included with any flat tax plan. All the flat tax plans that have been proposed in the past have included a personal exemption somewhere around 23 - 25K before the tax is applied as well as some type of deduction per child, so in reality the 50K earner would usually end up with an effective rate of four or five percent while the million earner still pays almost the full 12%.

It is the only truly fair tax plan without going to a consumption scheme which would be much more prone to fraud.

damn dude, you guys friends IRL? Otherwise you need to chill out. This is just a forum

CX500T's Tax Plan:

15% off the top to the Feds.
Returns are simple.

One IRS-1069 that has your W-2/1099 income listed.
You get ALL of the tax first $X back . X being 1.5x the poverty level for a family of four.
You, however, at most, ONLY get your tax back. None of this get paid to file crap. My brother often would get huge refunds on very little witholding.

Essentially makes anyone living on low income tax free.

No receipts. No keep records for 8 years. Not deductions.

Just the cost and butt-pain of compliance would be worth it.

I would probably honestly go for up to a 20% if it was just gone, and do NOTHING.. Govt sees you made $150k, the first $50k are exempt and you do NOTHING and boom, you get a check on/around April 15th.

Seriously, the IRS knows what 1099s and W2s you get. In my hypothetical $50k and under no tax, 20% above that it would be like this:

SSN CX500T
W2 Income (Delta) $150,000
W2 Income (Navy) $40,000
Total Tax paid: $190,000 * 20% = 38,000
Over 50k income, refund first $50k in taxes
$50,000 * 20% = $10,000 refund.
I pay out $28,000 on $190k.

Only interaction needed: Going on IRS website and electing direct deposit or paper check.

SSN CX500T's Nephew
W2 Income (Starbucks) $31,000
1099 Income (UberEats) $9,000

Total tax paid $8,000
Income under $50k threshold, full amount refunded.

Nephew pays $0.

There could be slightly more phase in steps more akin to the current system, but then you are asking for all sorts of loopholes.

Tie the exempt income to some multiple of the poverty line (I say family of four, for one person)

When two wolves and a lamb vote on what’s for dinner, it’s just so silly that the lamb is unreasonable. The vote was fair right?

Any different when the lamb gets three votes and the wolves get one each?

Nope. The tyranny of the majority works both ways. That is the entire reason the founders send this up the way they did. Look. These arguments have been had a couple hundred years ago by people much smarter than anyone on this board. Try the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers to start. Miracle at Philadelphia on the Constitutional Convention is a nice start on that.

Since the electoral college is in the Constitution, all that is needed is to open a Constitutional Convention. That can be done by Congress at any time or by getting enough state legislatures on board. When the law is written to abolish the electoral college, now all that needs to happen is 38 of the 50 states need to approve it, at least half of which the highly populated coastal states overlook for four years except for when they become important during election time. Good luck. You might wish to step outside and scream at clouds for practice.

If you have a flat tax rate but have an exemption for the first $10,000 or so of income as untaxable, then the lower earners would still pay a lower effective rate.

what a tragedy that would be

It wasn’t a complaint: it was a suggestion for how a flat tax could a a fair flat rate while not placing an undue burden on lower earners.

Every flat tax proposal has always exempted a certain base income from taxation. Usually in the 20 - 25K area plus additional for children. A family of four would normally be exempted for the first 55 or 60K. In most of the country that is above the median household income.