How much more tax would Joe pay with a 17% flat tax than under the 2016 system?

Question

Steve Forbes ran for U.S. president in 1996 and 2000 on a platform proposing a 17% flat tax, that is, an income tax that would simply be 17% of each tax payer's taxable income. Suppose that Joe was single in the year 2016 with a taxable income of $300,000.

We learn that Joe actually made $600,000, but his taxable income was only $300,000 because of various deductions allowed by the system in 2016. Proponents of the flat tax say that many of these deductions should be eliminated, so the 17% flat tax should be applied to Joe's entire $600,000.

How much more tax would Joe pay with a 17% flat tax than under the 2016 system? (Refer to the 2016 Tax Table for Singles for tax rates.)

Answer 1

$190,150 = 33% of his $300,000 taxable income

in 2016

with a flat tax of 17% on $600,000 the tax = $102,000

which is $82,150 less under Forbes plan

best alternative though is really Irving Fischer's consumption tax. It always gets ridiculed as a regressive sales tax. but it can be made more progressive than any income tax simply by taxing luxury goods at far higher rates, than necessities and non lusury good. "Income: is not income until it actually come in. until spent it's just paper profits you may never see, just phantom income. income taxes, flat or otherwise discourage investment. Irving Fisher's consumption tax avoids that.

plus Fisher avoids the complexity of the income tax, wasted time trying to figure out endless tax regulations.

2nd choice is Europe's VAT, Value Added Tax which again makes business pay the tax rather than individuals.

3rd choice Trump's tariffs replacing the income tax

not nearly enough discussion of VAT or Fisher's proposal

there's a reason: Republicans fear VAT or Fishe'r tax would not replace the income tax but just be one more tax added to the income tax. Democrats fear it will replace the income tax and they will lose control of vast trillions of dollars to spend. so better alternatives get totally ignored and we continue with the worst type of tax system ever