The Case For Ending Income Tax Itemization Of Deductions

While liberals and conservatives battle over the wisdom of the 2017 tax cuts, that law has quietly created an opportunity for a new reform that could please both flat-tax conservatives and tax-the-rich liberals.

For decades, many economists have argued that itemized tax deductions complicate the individual income tax code, overly benefit the rich, and distort economic decision-making. Yet the popularity of itemization has made eliminating these deductions politically perilous.

That popularity is now waning.

Regardless of whether one believes the overall tax burden should be higher or lower, it's clear income tax itemization is simply a poor use of a tax preference. Its rapidly declining usage provides a long-awaited opportunity to simplify and improve the tax code.