If you assume that the rich always figure out ways to avoid progressive taxes, why would you not also assume they would figure out ways to avoid paying a flat tax as well?
The thing that makes taxes complicated isn't the progressive tax table of 'pay X% on the first Y dollars you make, then pay Z% on the next W dollars, etc.', its the determination of what is and isn't taxable. That is where the rich game the tax system, and that's something that changing the rate schedule from progressive to flat will not fix.
If you want to close loopholes, eliminate deductions primarily used by the rich, put limitations on tax-exempt trusts, properly fund the IRS so they can actually audit rich people's tax returns again, etc., to actually capture more taxes from the rich... great! We should do that! But that all of that is completely orthogonal to changing the question of flat vs. progressive taxation.
Simply changing to a flat tax will lower the tax burden on the rich and increase the tax burden on the poor and middle class. All other things being equal, a change to a flat tax will hurt the average person, not help them.
> If you assume that the rich always figure out ways to avoid progressive taxes, why would you not also assume they would figure out ways to avoid paying a flat tax as well?
Every modern economy in the world has already solved this issue. VAT. A VAT is a consumption tax, there is no way to avoid a VAT, even with the resources of a super wealthy individual. A VAT is progressive because the more you spend the more you end up paying. A VAT can also be scaled on types of goods (so a higher VAT on Yacht's for example).
Income taxes, in general, flat or not, are abhorrent, hostile to freedom, and generally should be abolished.
The thing that makes taxes complicated isn't the progressive tax table of 'pay X% on the first Y dollars you make, then pay Z% on the next W dollars, etc.', its the determination of what is and isn't taxable. That is where the rich game the tax system, and that's something that changing the rate schedule from progressive to flat will not fix.
If you want to close loopholes, eliminate deductions primarily used by the rich, put limitations on tax-exempt trusts, properly fund the IRS so they can actually audit rich people's tax returns again, etc., to actually capture more taxes from the rich... great! We should do that! But that all of that is completely orthogonal to changing the question of flat vs. progressive taxation.
Simply changing to a flat tax will lower the tax burden on the rich and increase the tax burden on the poor and middle class. All other things being equal, a change to a flat tax will hurt the average person, not help them.