Fairness and Efficiency in the Flat Tax

A tax form the size of a postcard? That would be one result of Robert E. Hall and Alvin Rabushka's flat tax proposal. This idea, first suggested by the authors in 1982, is now the subject of wide-spread discussion in both popular and academic circles. In this up-to-date volume, the authors argue that a flat tax of 19 percent would raise the same revenue as the present income tax, while fundamentally redesigning our system of taxation to encourage savings and investment. Dick Armey urges passage of legislation to institute a flat tax, which, he believes, would simplify taxpayers' lives and encourage economic growth. Robert Eisner disagrees with the Hall-Rabushka flat tax, challenging claims for increased fairness and efficiency. He offers, instead, an alternative flat tax proposal of his own. According to Herbert Stein, the present federal income tax is full of "anomalies, distortions, and complexity, " allowing for "plenty of room for tax reform, " but for necessarily of the flat tax variety. These experts present a lively discussion of the pros and cons of the proposals for a flat tax, think through the likely effects of such a radical change, and make clear what can seem a confusing array of facts and figures.