U.S. Constitutional Amendment Proposal

U . S . Constitutional Amendment Proposal

The 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution shall read

The Internal Revenue Code shall be replaced with a Flat Tax . All taxes on profit-making business enterprises are abolished . A levy of 20 shall be applied to all individual income above a tax-free allowance to be set yearly by the Department of Labor . All deductions and credits previously in effect are abolished

This proposed 28th Amendment will not repeal the 16th the Internal Revenue Service will be preserved in a far lesser capacity as the tax

collection arm of the federal government . The Federal Reserve System will also be preserved as custodians of the nation 's money supply . The purpose of this amendment is to simplify the payment and collection of individual federal income taxes , and abolish all federal taxes paid by business . A tax-free allowance will be determined yearly by the Department of Labor . Income below that figure will be exempt from federal income taxes . For income above that figure , an assessment of 20 will be applied . No other deductions or credits will be allowed . Federal tax forms will be replaced by a post card . Taxpayers will receive their post card and postage -paid envelope by February 1st of each year

the House and 67 in the Senate . It would then be sent to each state legislature for debate , and ? would have to vote for approval . If 36 states vote in favor , the amendment would be added to the Constitution

As for a timetable for approval , the longest period of time between Congressional approval and ratification by the states was for the 22nd Amendment on presidential term limits . It took four years . The 16th Amendment , endorsing an income tax and creating the Internal Revenue Service took about 3 ? years . The others have taken two years or less The 26th Amendment lowering the voting age to 18 took only four months I would anticipate this amendment would take no longer than two years

Opposition to this proposed amendment would be fierce , mainly from those whose livelihoods depend on the current convoluted tax code . Tax lawyers wrote the code and are paid by individuals and businesses to interpret it to their advantages . Same with accountants , financial planners , investors , and tax preparation experts . Home builders and real estate salespeople depend on mortgage interest deductions as an additional tool to help them sell homes . Charities also depend on tax-exempt contributions from members . Government employees whose jobs would be eliminated would voice opposition , as would lobbying organizations whose efforts at securing various tax breaks for its clients would be rendered moot if business taxes were eliminated

They would , no doubt , couch their opposition in altruistic terms . They would argue home buyers and contributors would lose an incentive to invest in their operations , and their members would suffer an economic loss as a result . Others , such as tax professionals , preparers , and government employees whose jobs would be eliminated would probably make a restraint of traded ' argument that they were being...