My sense is that if “income” is the item to be taxed, then churches will be viewed as having “income” that comes into the church via the offering plate.
I want to get rid of the income tax. I’ll agree that a flat tax is a positive first step. Then we should repeal the 16th.
Also, in the meantime, families, the same as businesses, should be able to totally write off all expenses before arriving at their actual income.
Possibly.
You could also make the argument that only individuals have income… this would exclude churches and corporations. (I have mixed feelings about that though; you could set up all your "gains" [salary/interest/etc] as a trust, and be the executor of the trust... then what's "getting fed" is the 'trust' [which you control] and isn't considered income. Such behavior could be construed as fraud though.)
I want to get rid of the income tax. I’ll agree that a flat tax is a positive first step. Then we should repeal the 16th.
I have mixed feelings there. A sales-tax could be very much abused, imagine having a 2% tax on most things but on anything used anywhere in firearms manufacture as a 200% tax. (It could also be the harbinger of a VAT.) Repeal of the 16th is a good step, but I think almost more vital is the repeal of the 17th; because the 16th centralized power in DC by stripping the states themselves of representation.
Also, in the meantime, families, the same as businesses, should be able to totally write off all expenses before arriving at their actual income.
No, I disagree there. Some things could rightly be considered expenses, like food, but just how much has food-stamps been expanded? Moreover, the quality of the food could be an issue: filet-minion for every meal will cost a lot more than beans and rice. And that's only one category of expense, there's things like doctors and so forth, too.
No, the real demon in the tax-system is complexity and exceptions. It's by these means that there's so much corruption in government/industry.