From Larry Kudlow:
Apart from criminal prosecution, the best way to strip the power of politics and corruption from the IRS is to initiate broad-based, pro-growth tax reform and simplification. It’s the complexity of the tax code that nurtures the corruptness of the IRS.
There’s a buzz in Washington about this possibility, where both Democrats and Republicans are interested in reform. We need a simpler and flatter tax code. We need to get rid of the crony-capitalist insider deductions and exemptions, which have given the IRS so much power. These deductions and exemptions are precisely what nurtured the political corruption that led to a major scandal.
Some conservatives — like my great pal Jim Pethokoukis — don’t believe tax reform can be done. Old habits die hard, he believes. And the budget numbers from a pure flat tax never add up.
Well, Pethokoukis may be right in his concerns. But that’s no reason to give up the fight.
I’m going to argue for a modified flat tax in the personal code, and a single-rate flat tax — or a sales tax net of investment — for large and small businesses. Here’s a quick example of the need for this reform…
