Worse, for low earners, most of the income tax gain would be clawed back in tax credit deductions under Duncan Smith's universal credit.
All this would be paid for with tax credits, deductions, subsidies and other breaks.
There are roughly $1 trillion worth of credits, deductions and exemptions that could be eliminated to pay for those cuts.
A major step toward simplicity was taken in 1986, when several layers of credits, deductions and loopholes for special interests were stripped out of the tax code so that all taxpayers could enjoy somewhat lower rates.
Here is a list of the credits, deductions, exclusions and other tax preferences they would abolish.
A higher AGI can subject more of a retiree's Social Security checks to tax and cause a loss of various credits, deductions and exemptions denied to the better-off.
If you aren't sure about any credits, deductions, or even income ask a tax professional or go to IRS.gov.
To start, there are a dozen tax breaks, credits, deductions and other education related tax benefits available.
Obama, who seeks a mix of more tax increases along with spending cuts, wants to scale back tax expenditures -- tax credits, deductions, and other preferences -- for upper-income Americans.
Our tax code is so complex--and its credits, deductions and exemptions so convoluted--that the vast majority of us are stumped when it comes to threading our way through them.
