To defeat meaningful reform that threatens their power, liberals continue to tell lies about tax simplification. They say a flat tax would force middle class people to pay more, and tax them at identical rates to the wealthy, but neither claim is true. Flat tax proposals provide big exemptions before any burden is imposed—typically $40,000 for a family of four.

This means a couple earning $40,000 or less pays nothing, not even Social Security payroll tax, replaced by an overall flat tax of, say, 30 percent. A family earning $80,000 would pay taxes only on the half of their income above the exemption—an overall rate of 15 percent, much less than today! Only big-earners who currently rely on loopholes and deductions that distort our system would pay more, and no one—no one—would pay more than 30 percent.