Burchett / 5 Senator Joseph, C.

S.B._____

A BILL
To replace the income tax with a flat tax, while including the simplification of the tax code, reducing the IRS
personnel, and the removal of tax deductions and credits from the tax code.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Equal Tax Act of 2015.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) From 2007-2010, the Federal Individual Income Tax made up over 50 percent of all federal internal revenue from
taxes.
2) In 2010, the Federal Income Tax collected almost $1.2 Trillion in revenue.
3) 5 percent of the revenue from the Federal Income Tax is spent on collecting the tax.
4) There are four different existing graduated tax rates for corporations with a 15, 25, 34, and 35 percent of the total
income.
5) There are seven main tax tables for the individual income tax which are 10, 15, 25, 28, 33, 35, 39.6 percent of
their total income.
6) From 2000-2010 only the families of the top 1 percent had their incomes sink after taxes.
7) From 1979-2010 the bottom fifth had their incomes increase 49 percent after taxes.
8) In 1913 the first Income tax had seven tax brackets each income tax level increased by 1 percent.
9) During World War One the Income Tax rate was raised to 77 percent at one period of time in order to pay for the
war effort.
10) From 1979-2010, the top 1 percent had their income increased by 202 percent after taxes.
11) In 2013, there were 147,444,789 people (47 percent of the United Statess population) who paid federal income
tax returns.
12) There are 4 million words in our federal tax code and since 2001, there have been about 4500 changes to the tax
code.
13) The complexity of the tax code cost the American taxpayers approximately $310 billion in paperwork alone each
year.
14) The Income Tax is divided differently based on an individuals status: married, single, head of the household, or
married filing separately.
15) In 1988, there were only two tax brackets, which was the lowest amount of tax brackets since the Income Tax
was introduced in 1913.
16) If tax compliance were an industry, it would be one of the largest in the United States.
17) American taxpayers and businesses spend about 7.6 billion hours a year filing taxes.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) This bill shall hereby redefine the existing federal tax brackets located in Title 26 Section 1 of the US tax code,
mandating that all citizens and corporations of the United States shall each pay 13 percent of their income each year
to the federal government. This bill is eligible for a readjustment of the tax percentage when it is renewed. All other
federal taxes shall be abolished except for any tariffs or excise taxes on traded goods imported to the United States.
The government employees of the Internal Revenue Service shall be reduced by 90 percent over the course of the
next decade 10 percent of the 90 percent every year. This decrease in percentage of employees is only valid the first
time this bill is passed. All existing tax deductions and credits will be repealed and all future tax deductions and
credits will be prohibited.
B) Those individuals that in any way try to avoid paying taxes will be punished accordingly justified in accordance
with the existing tax code laws.
C) This bill shall be enacted on January 1, 2016. This bill is to come up for renewal every 10 years.

The flat tax has been a concept that has been misconstrued in American politics. According to many sources from the media, it is
thought to be unequal, unethical, and unreasonable in modern society, however, rarely has its benefits truly been introduced or

enlightened to the public. Data show that in 1913, when the Sixteenth amendment was ratified, it allowed Congress to tax incomes
in any way they deemed fit and were not bound by any means. This allowed for the income tax to grow and become overbearing to
the American people, thus punishing those who have been successful in their plight of business in America's capitalistic economy.
In order to combat the inequality of the progressive income tax, many conservatives have suggested the idea of a flat tax rate that
would be the same for all the people under the jurisdiction of the United States which would greatly reduce the complexities and
confusion with our current tax system. The replacement of the current federal income tax with a flat tax would be beneficial to the
American people because a flat tax would provide incentive to working Americans while reducing administrative costs, the income
tax is unnecessarily expensive for the taxpayers, and the tax code is too complex due to its unevenly distribution of the tax burden in
American Society.
Although, the exact model of a flat tax has not been experimented at the federal level in America since the birth of the
income tax, under conservative governing it has been proven that a more equal taxing percentage among all Americans helps
enhance the economy. Under a more conservative model of taxation the United States was the world's largest economy and created
a more successful economy. It is proven that the average American increased their income: "From 1979-2010 the bottom fifth had
their incomes increased 49% after taxes." The largest boost of this economic success was when Ronald Reagan was president and
he signed into law the Tax Reform Act of 1986 which helped narrow the federal income tax to two brackets. This was the closest
America has come to a flat tax in modern history and was proven to be most successful in producing wealth prosperity for the
American people. Comparatively, "From 2000-2010 the families of the top 1% had their incomes sink after taxes". Although, it was
only the top percentage of Americans that had their incomes decreased from 2000-2010, the lower incomes didn't have their
incomes increase to such a high percent as all Americans did during Reagan's tax reforms. This is why the progressive tax system
has continually damaged America's economy and crippled its people, yet it continues to rack up more money each year at the
taxpayers' expense.
Not only does the income tax continue to grow, but it continues to be the top revenue of the government making up over 50
percent of all federal internal revenue from 2007-2010. One might ask how costly such a tax could be if it already takes up most of
the taxes collected by the federal government. It is estimated that: "In 2010, the Federal Income Tax collected almost $1.2 Trillion."
The reason why this large number is so outrageous is because even with the amount of income the nation receives from taxes we
cannot pay off our national debt. The reason why many conservative like the flat tax over the progressive tax is because it is done in
a more modest and organized fashion allowing for the burden of money to rest evenly on the American people. The income tax
continues to benefit the rich and the poor leaving the middle class to suffer with the nation's bill. Only the rich can afford the high
taxes and the poor use the most amount of government programs, but pay little to nothing at all. Not only are the rich able to afford
high income taxes, but they are also able to hire tax attorneys that will help them avoid taxes using loopholes and other deductions.
Also, part of the reason why this tax system costs so much, while damaging the middle class is because it is too complex.
Complexity is not the whole problem, but it is the reason why the government needs so many employees to work in the
IRS. Just as we reduce the government to cut down on expenses we can also cut down on the intricacies of the current tax code.
What is most apparent is: "5 percent of the revenue is spent on collecting the Income Tax." Many of the government employees and
private tax attorneys work to manipulate the system or use the tax to their benefit. The reason why today's income tax is much more
complicated than a flat tax is because a flat tax would have only one percentage for all Americans while the current tax code has
multiple percentages for different income groups. For example, at the federal level: "There are seven main tax tables for
individuals." These tax tables as well as deductions and credits to one's individual tax is the reason why our tax system is unreliable
and unfair. Unlike the current tax code which consists of about 100 pages and over 1 million words a flat tax would be so simple
that anyone would be able to file their taxes easily without the need to hire a tax attorney.
As the flat tax increases its popularity people will come to realize the logic that is put forth with this proposition to replace
the income tax with a simpler and more equal tax. Not only will a Flat Tax develop the economy, but it will decrease expenditures
of the current income tax allowing for the income tax to abide by it first principle. Under the 16 amendment "Today's federal
income tax violates the principle that the individual should be taxed once and it should be as close as possible to the original
source." With a flat tax this measure will allow for a more equal future where successful people can diversify and spread their
wealth among their workers, family, friends, or whoever they encounter. One thing is for sure and that is a flat tax would increase
Philanthropy from the wealth to help develop those countries, communities, schools, and environments in need. This flat tax is more
than a tax, it is an opportunity for America to reengineer its success.