The only things certain in life are death and taxes. While we can’t change death, Brookings scholar William Gale argues that we can change our tax policy to reduce its complexity and make it fairer. Tax reform that is simple, equitable, stable and promotes economic growth can be achieved if our next President is committed to real reform driven by good tax policy and not the policies of special interests.
Recommendations
The next President should support tax reforms that:
- tax all new corporate investment income only once
- remove all corporate subsidies in the Code and strengthen corporate anti-sheltering provisions
- integrate payroll and income taxes for individuals
- introduce return-free filing for many taxpayers
- consolidate and streamline tax subsidies for education, retirement and families
- eliminate or revise various tax deductions
- create a value-added tax that would, eventually, raise 5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in revenues
Download Position Paper (PDF)
Download Fact Sheet (PDF)
Related Opportunity 08 Content:
Q&A on Tax Reform, William G. Gale
Opportunity 08 aims to help 2008 presidential candidates and the public focus on critical issues facing the nation, presenting policy ideas on a wide array of domestic and foreign policy questions. The project is committed to providing both independent policy solutions and background material on issues of concern to voters.
