FLAT FOOTED….Robert Nelson argues today that we shouldn’t be too quick to get rid of the Alternative Minimum Tax:
There is wide agreement among economists on the benefits of a federal “flat tax” on income that would apply a uniform rate to every taxpayer and eliminate most current deductions and tax credits….As Post business reporter Albert B. Crenshaw has noted, the AMT “approaches a modern-day flat tax.” It imposes a uniform rate of 26 percent up to $175,000 in income, and above that 28 percent.
As Nelson surely knows, there’s wide agreement among economists that a broadly-based tax that minimizes exemptions and loopholes would be economically efficient. However, there is no agreement at all that having a flat rate is a good thing. It’s wildly dishonest to say otherwise.
