I call BS on the idea that this will simplify anything. The big question is always how do you define 'income'. For the average employed person, the 1040EZ is already pretty simple. For somebody with money, the question of what is income, what is deductible, will always be there. And for business, there will always be the need for accountants to keep track of deductible and non-deductible expense.
All the work of the income tax is deciding what is income. Working out the final tax from the tax tables or tax brackets is a couple of minutes.
Milton Friedman was blowing smoke. Any form of income tax is evil, as it gives the government control over your life.
If you don’t have taxes of some sort, you do not have a government.
Or rather, you don’t till someone invades and forces one on you.
You don't get it. The 1040EZ form has little to do with the accounting of income. It is simple because there are no complex deductions. Likewise, businesses wouldn't need a staff of tax accountants and lawyers because there would be no deductions. You pay 17% of income...there are no deductions. Personally, I'd make the tax rate on business 15% of income. Any tax on a domestic business ultimately ends up as a tax on the individual anyway.
There's no problem figuring out income. Any payment to you from someone else would be income. You're confusing the concept of income with the current concept of net income.
Unless you have some kind of social system that has no form of gov't yet remains viable, you need some way to fund gov't. Friedman's idea is workable. The only tax that is truly evil is a tax on wealth, not income.
"Any form of income tax is evil, as it gives the government control over your life."