Why a Flat Tax Hurts the Poor
As we enter the election year, it’s no doubt that we will hear countless policy suggestions, some we agree with, some we don’t; some better than others. It is important to understand some of these proposals so we can best judge the policy for what it is, independent of what team or side it’s coming from.
“It’s worth it to explain the flat tax for what it is: a regressive policy that would only serve to further hurt the poor while enriching the wealthy.”
One issue that comes up fairly often is the idea of reforming our current (admittedly complicated) progressive tax system for a flat tax. For those not familiar, a flat tax would subject all Americans and incomes to the same singular tax rate (as opposed to the current progressive tax system where higher amounts of income are taxed at ever increasing amounts, known as ‘tax brackets’).
While it appears we may not have a presidential candidate running on this reform in 2020 as we did with Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson in 2016, it’s worth it to explain the flat tax for what it is: a regressive policy that would…
