Max Baucus: “we have not seen a copy of this amendment, but I assume it is the standard flat tax that has been discussed for years.…”

“we have not seen a copy of this amendment, but I assume it is the standard flat tax that has been discussed for years. If that is the case, then the net effect of it will be, for most income earners, most American taxpayers, in effect, a tax increase. The only taxpayers with a tax reduction under the standard flat tax proposal will be those of adjusted gross incomes of over $200,000, and the tax reduction will be 50 percent. Stated differently, this is a tax on workers but it is not a tax on investment income, it is not a tax on other income, which I think is unfair. In any event, the amendment is not germane. I raise a point of order that it violates section 305(b)(2) of the Budget Act.”