Free Republic

During this time of unprecedented uncertainty relatd to the novel coronavirus, American communities and industries have been voluntarily coming together to do what they can. Companies have switched over to producing medical masks. Billionaires are throwing massive amounts of personal wealth into developing open source treatments. Most recently, Google has committed to donating $800 million to help fight the spread of the virus globally, demonstrating that we are not experiencing this crisis alone. Yet some in the Trump administration, Peter Navarro in particular, seem keen to not let a crisis go to waste. he Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy,...

WASHINGTON - Almost everyone agrees that America's income tax is too complex. Considering this, you might expect that simplifying the income tax would be a slam dunk. Sure enough, the various presidential candidates have proposed sweeping overhauls. But any agreement is mostly rhetorical. The odds that the next president, whoever it be, will engineer genuine tax simplification are negligible. On this Tax Day, it's worth pondering why. Make no mistake: I think we'd be better off with a simpler system. By this, I mean a system with a broader tax base and lower rates. I'd eliminate most tax preferences and...