Abolish the Income Tax, not the Tax Exemption

In the May 21 WSJ Opinion section Stanford University professor Ronald McKinnon suggests that the way to eliminate the potential of another IRS scandal over the targeting of tax exempt organizations is to eliminate tax exemptions for charitable contributions. I would like to “see” his offer and raise the stakes. Instead of a proposal like his which would increase tax revenue, why not eliminate the income tax and the meddlesome IRS bureaucracy along with it. In addition to eliminating the potential for further IRS abuses this move would significantly reduce the revenue to government. President Reagan called it “starving the beast.” It is clear from the multiple scandals swirling about various government agencies that this beast needs to be starved.