Flat Tax or Sales Tax? A Win-Win Choice For America by Daniel J. Mitchell, Ph.D. Backgrounder #1134 August 14, 1997 | | Intruduction The current tax code of the United States is irreversibly broken and should be repealed. The tax laws undermine the country's prosperity by imposing needlessly harsh penalties on work, savings, and investment. Although many taxpayers face confiscatory tax rates and often are forced to pay more than one layer of tax on their income, the politically well-connected can take advantage of special deductions, credits, preferences, shelters, and loopholes to minimize their own tax liability. The result of...