[expat_panama]

...abolish (or reduce to a skeleton) the IRS...

We need to get clear about what we're talking about.  From here:

DEFINITION of 'Internal Revenue Service - IRS'

A United States government agency that is responsible for the collection and enforcement of taxes. The IRS was established in 1862 by President Lincoln and operates under the authority of the United States Department of the Treasury. It is primarily engaged in the collection of individual income taxes and employment taxes, but also handles corporate, gift, excise and estate taxes.

There's a lot more to the IRS than personal income taxes.

[econjack]

True, but those other taxes probably would not be needed if a true Flat Tax were in place. All of those additional taxes fall out of the IRS Code. Congress bitches about the "unfairness" of the tax code. However, those stupid clowns forget they are the ones who wrote the code in the first place...and they did it in ways designed to feather their own nest.

No one fully understands the Code. If you think I'm wrong, think up a moderately-tough tax question and call the IRS for an answer. If you get through and get an answer, call back again with the same question. Unless it's something really simple, you'll get a different answer. I say: shit-can the whole thing and go to a flat tax. Such a tax is resource-neutral and that, to me as an economist, is preferable to what we have on the books now.