They always say that. Everytime they "simplify" the tax code, it gets far more complicated. Just look at the deductions that could be taken that are now phased out based on income and other factors. There are too many special interests involved that something truly simple like a flat tax will never happen. As long as government is in the business of redistributing income, the income tax will remain in place to serve that need.
I'm always worried whan another pol wants to "help" too. No telling how many extra pages of explanation it will take to "simplify" the code. When I lived in Taiwan the tax form was ONE side of a legal size paper. The instructions were on the other side. If you filed early, you filled out the form, took a number to see a tax assistant who looked over your form. If OK, they IMMEDIATELY issued you a check for your refund. Then you walked over to the other counter and CASHED YOUR REFUND CHECK. Perhaps an hour or 2 for the ENTIRE process! How high was the tax you ask? If you made less than $ US 4,000 a month, you were taxed at 10%. My paychecks withheld 15%, and most of the remaining 5% was refunded.
Far fewer government programs in Taiwan, so there was $ for some national health care (to a point). If you were working, employer, employee and government all contributed. Approximately $US 60.00 was withheld from my check every month for health care. (Of course I still had to pay small fees when I went to see a doctor.) Although their medical care is not as good as ours, Taiwan had thousands of little neighborhood clinics, first come first serve, which were very hand for flu, little stuff.
Perhaps some of the Taiwanese could come give some instructions to our politicians on how to get the tax down and the economy going. Since many of our elite "leaders" diss American founders, economists etc, they might be more open to the diversity of listening to Chinese.