In an opinion piece in today’s Wall Street Journal, John Steele Gordon traces the evolution of the U.S. income tax system, both the personal income tax and the corporate income tax. It is interesting and, I think, it should be required reading for every Congressman, Senator, and the President.
What started as a tax of 1% on upper middle-class incomes of the day with a top rate of 7% on the super-rich of the day has morphed into a tax system that is often back-breaking on the middle class. Moreover, the current rates paid by the mega-wealthy, which are mocked by those in favor of the so-called “Buffett Rule” and in making the rich pay an even greater share out of some undefined “fairness,” are stratospheric when compared to the 7% rate paid by the titans of industry at the dawn of the U.S. income tax.
The main point of the article by Mr. Gordon is that the current tax system is hopelessly complicated and unwieldy; it must be thrown out and reformed completely.
He’s right. What started as a law of only 14 pages in length now encompasses thousands and thousands of pages of statutes and regulations. It’s time to make a fresh start and have a real debate on what is “fair” with respect to tax law in the United States.