We should simplify first, without eliminating witholding before taking a jump off the cliff.
Been there done that with the Reagan reforms.
Didn't last long and nary a pause in the the climb of complexity of the actual tax code to be seen.
The base problem of any income tax system is that complexity, by it's very nature, is inherent to separating income from merely return of one's vested capital, and the regulatory environent that must exist to assure accuracy of returns.
Those that fail to learn from history are forever doomed to repeat it.
Realistically, I see no way of getting there from the current status.
You do it, by making sure that Congress Critter's are held accountable for the legislation they enact.
Bottomline, the responsibility lay with us, the electorate.
"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
- Plato -
"The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
-John Philpot Curran: Speech upon the Right of Election, 1790.
My point was that the "all or nothing" approach from sales tax advocates hurts tax reform efforts. If both sides got together, I believe they could work together and enact a postcard type system like Armey proposed. Primarily because the elimination of witholding could be postponed.
Go here and click on "comments" on the left. Let'm hear from you:
http://www.taxreformpanel.gov/