A simplified tax structure needed

Dennis Durost, St. George, Utah

Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

Regarding Saturday’s editorial “No-new-taxes rhetoric fails to understand what people really think”:

Deficit reduction should be achieved through both reduced spending and increased revenue from tax reform. However, taxing the rich more would have only a limited effect on the deficit and potentially result in reduced charitable giving and lost jobs. A more rational approach would be to broaden the tax base, eliminate deductions and adopt a lower flat tax. Everyone above the poverty level should pay some taxes. The tax should be progressive with high earners paying a larger percentage. Significant cost reductions could be achieved through more aggressive fraud, waste and abuse enforcement, by establishing and enforcing budgets, and by eliminating or combining marginally effective agencies.

Finally, a simplified tax structure would eliminate the need for the IRS. Will any of this happen? Probably not. The progressive left wants more not less government and special-interest groups want their piece of the pie.