Flat-Tax and Flat-Earth, Two Disproved Theories
Bob Nelson is the latest nice guy who is wrong about taxes. An economist and professor in the School of Public Policy of the University of Maryland, Bob makes an interesting case (Washington Post, June 1st) that the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is about to become the much sought after ‘flat tax.’
Actually, he’s not wrong about the AMT becoming The Tax That Ate the American Middle Class, in that it long ago lost its value as a minimum tax on the rich. Without noticing, we have mostly become rich, at least by 1960s standards. The numbers, if not the actual relative wealth, have crept up and now a huge swath of the middle class is AMT eligible.
Instead of swatting this down as an unintended consequence of an outdated piece of legislation, murky forces within the legislature are welcoming it as another way to get what they want. A flat tax. Flat tax aficionados, feel such a tax is more equitable getting rid of a large number of loopholes and evasions that often benefit narrow interest grou…