The United States Tax System and the Flat TaxThe American tax system is in complete disarray. Republicans and Democrats agree that the current tax code is complex, unfair and costly. The income tax system is so complex; the IRS issues 480 tax forms and 280 forms to explain the 480 forms (Armey 1). The main reason the tax system is so complex is special preferences such as deductions and tax credits. The complexity of the current tax system requires Americans to spend 5.4 billion hours complying with the tax code, more time than it takes to manufacture every car, truck, and van produced in the United States (Armey 1). Time isn't the only thing lost with the current tax system; Americans also lose a lot of money complying with the tax code. Resources currently wasted on record keeping, filing forms, learning the tax code, litigation, and tax evasion. The cost of complying with the current tax code is approximately $200 billion per year, or $700 for every man, woman and child in America (Armey 1). The overwhelming consensus that the current tax system is inadequate has sparked the search for tax reform. There are many tax reform proposals; One particular proposal put forward by various conservatives is the idea of ​​a flat-rate national income tax. The idea is to replace the current income tax with a single rate that everyone pays. This article will take a close look at the concepts of "flat tax" and examine the potential advantages and disadvantages. Although there is a basic format for the flat tax, conservatives have offered multiple flat tax proposals. In addition to critiquing the basic flat tax format, this article will compare a... middle of paper ... well, John Fund, Steve Forbes. The flat tax: revitalizing the American dream. April 8, 1996: Online. Internet. November 30, 1999. Available on the Web: http://www.heritage.org/library/categories/budgettax/lect569.htmlMitchell, Daniel. (1) The flat tax: freedom, fairness, employment and growth. Washington DC: Regnery Publishing Inc, 1996. Mitchell, Daniel. (2) Making sense of competing tax reform projects. February 22, 1996: online. Internet. December 4, 1999. Available at: http://www.heritage.org/library/categories/budgettax/bgup268.htmlMitchell, Daniel. (3) Which tax reform plan is best for America? September 26, 1995: Online. Internet. November 30, 1999. Available at: http://www.heritage.org/library/categories/budgettax/bg1055.html Hammond, Jeff. The flaws of the flat tax. Online. Internet. December 1, 1999. Available on WWW: http://www.dlcppi.org/flat.htm