The U.S. Tax Code Farce

America needs to junk the tax code, close the IRS as today configured, and switch over to a flat and simple 10/10/10/ plan. Under such a plan, worldwide corporate income would be taxed at 10% as would individual income and retail purchases. The New York Times Editorial Board lays out its position today.

In response to the recent Senate hearing on tax avoidance at Apple, some pundits have argued that the best solution is to abolish the corporate income tax altogether. Their contention is that multinational corporations — which hold trillions of dollars in mostly untaxed profits offshore — are so complex and so expert at avoidance that even trying to tax them is pointless. It would be better, they say, to quit trying and to raise needed tax revenue in other ways. This would be a completely wrong approach.