Ron Wyden: “today I am proposing a Fair Flat Tax Act that will finally provide real tax relief to America's hurting middle class. It…”

“today I am proposing a Fair Flat Tax Act that will finally provide real tax relief to America's hurting middle class. It will do so by making the tax system simpler, flatter and fairer. And at the same time, it will begin to reduce the deficit that is destabilizing our economy, our security and our future. This tax reform proposal is simpler because it's easier to understand and use. My legislation will include a new, simplified 1040 form that is one page, 30 lines, for every individual taxpayer. This plan is flatter because it collapses the current system of six individual tax brackets down to three--15, 25 and 35 percent--and creates a flat corporate rate of 35 percent. Ultimately, this plan is fairer because it changes the laws that disproportionately favor the most affluent Americans and corporations at the expense of the middle class. Instead, it provides a major middle-class tax cut--paid for by the elimination of scores of tax breaks in the individual and corporate income tax breaks, and by repealing the Bush tax cuts that favored the most fortunate few at the expense of the many. This plan is fairer for American taxpayers because it treats work and wealth equally. This is a radical statement about tax law: America can do better than a two-tier system which forces a policeman to pay a higher effective tax rate than an investor who makes his income on capital gains and dividends.…”