A Fair and Simple Tax System for our Future

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A Fair and Simple Tax System for our Future

January 31, 2005

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Read John Podesta's A Tax Plan for Progressives (with John Irons), Testimony for the President's Tax Reform Panel and Washington Post op-ed, To Trump Bush on Taxes

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Executive Summary

The current tax code is unfair, unnecessarily complex, and has failed to meet our national priorities. Today, we are faced with a fundamental choice for our tax structure: continue the policies that have failed the vast majority of taxpayers and our country for the benefit of a few, or reform the tax system consistent with progressive principles. It is time for a fairer and simpler tax system that reduces the massive deficits created over the last four years, strengthens the middle class while honoring their work, and creates opportunity for Americans of all income levels to succeed.

Restoring a fair, simple, and pro-opportunity tax system, while generating the resources necessary to meet our looming challenges, requires moving our tax system in an ambitious new direction. The Center for American Progress proposes a comprehensive tax reform plan that rewards hard work and promotes shared prosperity. We propose a plan that would tax each kind of income according to the same rate schedule, whether the income is derived from wages, salaries, capital gains, or dividends. Our plan shifts the share of taxes away from the regressive payroll tax and onto a restructured income tax. It reduces complexity by establishing a simpler, more progressive three-rate structure and it eliminates the Alternative Minimum Tax, in addition to closing corporate and individual loopholes. Our plan enhances opportunity by reducing the deficit to strengthen the economy and it promotes retirement savings for millions of Americans who currently receive no savings incentives through the tax code. Furthermore, our plan improves the Earned Income Tax Credit and expands the number of families eligible to receive the federal child tax credit. Ultimately, the Center for American Progress's reform plan increases the take-home pay of low- and middle-income families and generates the funds our country needs to meet its vital domestic and national security commitments.

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