The Patriot Post® · Shall We Try the Main Street Tax Plan?

Let’s talk tax. It’s a popular subject these days, as the deadline for filing with the Internal Revenue Service comes down to the wire. Sure, the presidential candidates are all proposing their plans to cut taxes and simplify the tax code, or, in the Democrats’ case, increase taxes and keep the tax morass we currently have in place. While a flat tax would simplify the whole process, not to mention subjugating everyone to the same Rule of Law, the best hope for tax reform is a gradual reform.

Enter the Hudson Institute’s tax plan that it dubs “The Main Street Tax Plan.” While unveiling the plan Wednesday, Senior Fellow at the institute, Jeffrey Anderson, said the key to tax reform is political viability. It does, after all, have to cross a divided Congress. As Anderson explained: “The Main Street Tax Plan would expand the U.S. economy by $2 trillion within a decade. That is in the ballpark of growth generated by the Reagan and Kennedy tax cuts.” It would do this by creating another tax bracket of 20%. Individuals earning $47,751 and couples making $95,501 start to get taxed by the IRS at $25. If they only made a couple dollars less, then the IRS would only take 15% of their income. It creates a barrier where couples who are beginning to earn more get hit with a tax wall. The Main Street Tax Plan would smooth out the tax increases so Americans can move smoothly upwards. And while we’re at it, let’s reform the internal workings of the IRS so it better protects Americans’ data. That should also be something on which lawmakers have bipartisan agreement.