The United States Tax System and the Flat Tax The United States tax system is in complete disarray. Republicans and Democrats agree that the current tax code is complex, unfair and expensive. The income tax system is so complex; the IRS publishes 480 tax forms and 280 forms to explain the 480 forms (Armey 1). The main reason the tax system is so complex is due to special preferences such as deductions and tax credits. The complexity of the current tax system forces Americans to spend 5.4 billion hours complying with the tax code, which is more time than it takes to produce every car, truck, and van produced in the United States (Armey 1). Time isn't the only thing lost under the current tax system; Americans also lose large amounts of money by complying with the tax code. Resources that are currently wasted on record keeping, filing forms, learning the tax code, litigation and tax avoidance. 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 on the inadequacy of the current tax system has triggered the search for tax reform. There are numerous 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 paid by everyone. This article will take a closer look at "flat tax" concepts and examine their possible benefits and potential failures. While there is a basic format for the flat tax, there are multiple flat tax proposals offered by conservatives. In addition to critiquing the basic format of the flat tax, this article will compare a… medium of paper… well, John Fund and Steve Forbes. The flat tax: revitalizing the American dream. 8 April 1996: online. Internet. November 30, 1999. WWW available: http://www.heritage.org/library/categories/budgettax/lect569.htmlMitchell, Daniel. (1) The flat tax: freedom, equity, work and growth. Washington DC: Regnery Publishing Inc, 1996.Mitchell, Daniel. (2) Making sense of competing tax reform plans. February 22, 1996: online. Internet. December 4, 1999. Available WWW: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 WWW: http://www.heritage.org/library/categories/budgettax/bg1055.htmlHamond, Jeff. The failures of the flat tax. Online. Internet. December 1, 1999. AvailableWWW: http://www.dlcppi.org/flat.htm