Taxes Made Simple
Tax reform: it's a burgeoning topic on the presidential hopeful campaign trails, and on the minds of more and more taxpayers lured into the net of the Alternative Minimum Tax.
From Mike Huckabee's FairTax to Rudolph Guiliani's proposals to change the corporate tax rate, each candidate has the solution for how to adapt the current tax structure to make it simpler and fairer. But none does it like the Simplified Exact Transparent Tax. This solution, developed by the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, offers answers to the problems vetted in these proposals and others — without demolishing the existing tax structure. It brings together the simplicity of a single-rate system and the flexibility necessary to make it work.
Most importantly, it is a non-partisan plan that offers a balance between liberal and conservative agendas. It works because the architecture of the plan is developed by some of the nation's most prominent tax experts. And as it should be, Congress would still determine the policy that drives the plan.
The SET Tax is a single-rate proposal that uses the broadest income base, gross income, and translates the provisions of the existing tax code into a simple, single formula. Take your income, take out "subtractions" defined by Congress, and multiply by a rate (let's say 35%). That simple calculation would give you your tax. The Earned Income Credit would be treated as a payment and would continue to support the working poor.
It offers transparency that none of the other plans do, allowing taxpayers to not only see what they owe, but also where their tax dollars are going. It simplifies 94 years of patches to the Internal Revenue Code, including the AMT fix.
Instead of burying Congressional policy decisions in the tax system, the SET Tax highlights them. It is Congressional policy — and the needs of the nation — that determine deductions (renamed subtractions in the SET Tax). If, for example, our political leaders were determined to encourage home ownership, they could allow a subtraction for mortgage interest. If they wanted to increase taxpayer support of charities, they could offer a subtraction for charitable contributions. If the federal government wants to eliminate the deduction for state/local taxes, let them say so and not hide behind the shroud of the AMT.
Congressional policy decisions for tax burdens would be balanced against the national debt and the amount of revenue that the nation needed to raise. The good news is that these decisions and revenue streams would be transparent. You and I would know what policies our tax dollars are supporting. It also gives political leaders a much better grasp on how a tax change will impact their constituency.
Connecting the taxpayer with the process encourages compliance and will reduce the tax gap. By using the simpler SET Tax system, it is fair to require every adult and income earner to file a basic income tax return, drawing all of the nation's potential income tax payers into the tax system. The "compliance bonus," revenue that will be brought in through the SET tax's transparency — and broader/deeper reach — would add thousands of tax evaders to the system. This revenue could eliminate the need for the AMT.
The envy of the world, our current tax system already has a compliance rate of 85%. With the SET Tax the compliance could be even higher.
A new operating system to enforce our existing tax laws would weaken the allure and viability of the underground economy. And with more income disclosed and properly taxed, additional government revenue can fund more social and economic goals. Congress would be allowed to enact lower tax to dutiful taxpayers, reduce deficits, and increase spending for worthy government programs.
One last point: The SET Tax is considered a flat tax because it has one rate, but it is not the flat tax promoted by Messrs. Huckabee and Hall/Rabushka. A flat tax aims to find the lowest tax rate with the largest tax base. We agree with having a single-rated system, but we don't believe a broader base with the lowest rate is the price that must be paid for simplicity. The SET Tax would not lower taxes on the wealthy as a pure flat tax would. It would be fair to all income levels.
Our tax system is broken. So why has there been no reform on an issue that affects every American? Oddly enough, it may be the fear of transparency that is dooming the rush to tax reform, leaving those who wish to mask a loophole for political or financial agendas the only beneficiaries.
Mr. Lifson is a co-managing partner with Hays & Company LLP, a New York City based firm of Certified Public Accountants that is part of the Moore Stephens International network. He is president of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants and was chairman of its Committee on Tax Reform.
