Hermain Cain's 9-9-9 - Taxable Income multiplied by 9%
Rick Perry's 20% Flat Tax - Taxable Income multiplied by 20%
Obama's Millionaire Surtax - Taxable Income in Excess of $1MM multiplied by 55%
Do you see the common theme? Before you can ever calculate the taxes owed, you must know taxable income. This is what complicates every tax discussion. It's not the calculation of the tax that's difficult, it is figuring out what is Taxable Income?
And not all types of income are earned equally. Most often income is used to describe Wage Income, the amount shown on your W-2. Other types include Capital Gains, Interest and Dividends, Passthrough Income, Alimony, among others.
Even if we abolish all deductions, to "broaden the tax base, and lower the rates," we still need to decide if Grandma's Interest Income should be taxed at the same rate as Barack Obama's book royalties. Or if Warren Buffett's stock dividends should be taxed at the same rate as Albert Pujols' home run bonuses.
If you're thinking, "let's just call it all income. Anytime you get money, that's income, pay your fair share." Does it include money you receive for college scholarships? When you sell stock, are you taxed on 100% of the sales price including the amount you paid? What if your boss gives you a car and free rent in a house instead of cash, does that mean you have no income?
I kept a print copy of the Tax Code at my desk when I worked in public accounting and prepared tax returns. Trust me, it's big. And that doesn't even begin to count the Regulations, Court Cases, Publications, Form Instructions, Committee Reports, etc that you have to read in order to understand what the Code itself means.
No Presidential Administration will take office and make the tax code disappear. Or if they do, they're going to replace it with something that looks, smells, and feels exactly like a tax code, but happens to go by a different acronym.
My point is this: a discussion about taxes will never be cut and dried, black and white. We need to stop expecting our leaders to deliver a 15 word tax code that will solve our every loving problem. They can't do it. If they're telling you they can, be skeptical.