Income tax for income? Huh?

Today’s 1040 income tax return has become a social and moral tool for government policies. It gives exemptions to parents who have more children than they can afford; it gives the wealthy tremendous breaks for stock market gambling; it encourages (or rewards) charitable giving.

To accomplish its goals, instructions now run 108 pages. To help navigate its complexities, a whole industry of tax lawyers and tax preparation services, as well as numerous tax filing software programs, have blossomed.

The result: People use every loophole and trick to pay as little as possible.

Should we make income tax simply income tax – with a one-page form that any middle schooler could understand? Can we make the “T” word simply a citizen’s obligation?

Eliminate all the credits, exemptions, deductibles. Get rid of all preliminary worksheets and calculations. The payoff to the government would be greater compliance and faster filing. We could greatly reduce the size of the IRS needed to detect and correct mistakes. Much money could be saved: no more instruction books and countless forms to print out.

Most importantly, a simple form would be fairer. If we treated all income as income, there would be no way to shield it or play financial tricks to protect it. Everyone would see what tax rates various income levels pay.

If the form indexed the tax rate to income, it would be easier to adjust to the needs of the country. In my view, those whose income fell below a certain level would pay 0 percent tax; those who make millions would pay at a very high rate, as they used to in the past. And there would be many other rates in between.

Transparency, simplicity, fairness: That’s the tax reform we need to prosper as a nation.

JOHN DELANEY

Port Townsend