http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/03/25/business-az-xgr-flat-tax_8374937.htmlEliminating deductions, changing from a floating tax rate to a fixed one of 2.13%
As passed by the House, the bill would have produced an additional $50 million of annual revenue for the state. However, the Senate committee amended the bill so that it would not significantly add or subtract from total state revenue, according to an analysis by the legislative budget staff.
Pretty much revenue-neutral. The goal seems to be:
1. Make poor people pay taxes and get off the public dole
2. Get government out of the business of creating false demand for consumer products like Natural Gas powered vehicles or solar power systems for homes (these currently are incentivized via tax deductions, artificially inflating the value/price of these types of consumer infrastructure purchases).
The committee heard words of cautions from tax accountants who said the implications of the changes hadn't been adequately studied but support from the Goldwater Institute's chief economist, Byron Schlomach.
If it puts tax accountants out of work, that's a good thing. There's a metric $#!+load of unnecessary paper-pushing jobs that do nothing. The hidden taxpayer-funded bureaucracy of the current tax system. Good riddance.
