Dear I.R.S.: Thanks for the Letter

Published in the New York Times on July 23, 2001

To the Editor:

It is no surprise that the battle over the surplus was only a skirmish in the war to end the income tax (front page, July 16). Republicans in Congress have made little effort to conceal their contempt for the Internal Revenue Service, and have hobbled the tax law with conflicting rules to make it collapse under its own weight.

Both sides must find a middle ground. Opponents of simplification hold that flatter rates penalize low-income taxpayers. But even radical tax reform need not hurt the poor. A consumption tax could include personal exemptions and standard deductions to ensure that those with low incomes are not subject to it. A value-added tax could be combined with a lump-sum grant per person to accomplish the same end. Congress could use these instruments to help the poor.

James B. Bryan
White Plains, NY

The writer is a senior economist at the Institute for SocioEconomic Studies