Personally, I prefer a flat tax on all income about a specified, per-person level if we’re going to have an income tax at all.

Set up properly, I wouldn’t object to this. I would still ask that we keep a standard deduction, however, to account for the poverty level. Make it something like $10,000 per adult and $5,000 per dependent child, and tax, say, a flat 25% of what’s left. (All numbers completely arbitrary.)

Of course, this would never fly, because too many people would lose too many deductions they like. Your home mortgage interest deduction? Sayonara. Tax-free retirement savings accounts? Gone, the way of the model-T. Business expense write-offs? Goodbye. Capital loss write-offs? If they exceed your capital gains, you can’t write off the net loss, either.

Also, I’m not sure the well-to-do people would be terribly happy with all of their income (including interest, dividends, and capital gains) counting the same as wage/salary income.

NOTE: Personally, I prefer a flat tax on all income about a specified, per-person level if we’re going to have an income tax at all. The above statement is specific to the current proposed amendment only.

People don’t usually head to Minnesota to retire & collect their social security bennies, nor are the majority of military bases located in the blue states. The south is hotter (retirement communities) and the shorelines allow for plenty of military bases & contractors.

‘’This is a matter of simple fairness since citizens in other states are allowed to deduct their state income tax payments,’’ Alexander said.

Not really. Residents of other states can’t deduct their sales tax, either.

Now here’s my question: I’m a legal resident of WA, which doesn’t have an income tax. But, thanks to the Army, I live in SC, which does. But I don’t pay SC taxes, other than sales tax. Can I deduct my SC sales tax, or just the tax in my home state?