I support a flat tax in Utah

I don't pay tithing in order to get a tax deduction. I pay tithing because it is a commandment.

Jon Butler, an attorney representing the LDS Church gave a statement to the Tax Reform Task Force committee, saying in part:

"Our community is best served by providing tax incentives for the support of charitable activities... Charitable contributions help provide for society's poor and needy, fund education and the arts, and meet other important social needs beyond the reach of government resources."

I know I would make at least the same amount of charitable contributions even if there were no tax benefits to doing so. With a flat tax leaving more money in my wallet I'd have the means to give even more.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves". He did not say, "I lobby the government to give men a tax break to incentivize them to do the right thing."

As a homeowner and a parent of four, I'm also in favor of a flat tax in-lieu of being able to deduct my mortgage interest as well as receiving per-child tax breaks.

It's hard for me to imagine that the simplifying the byzantine tax code could possibly make the system worse or less fair than it already is. Steve Forbes makes, in my opinion, a fairly persuasive case that a flat tax would "unleash a stupendous economic boom."

—Michael A. Cleverly
Sunday, September 18, 2005 at 14:47

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