[zacharycohn]

If you pay 10% on $100,000 a year, you have 90,000 left over. Plenty of money to live comfortably and have your needs met.

If you pay 10% on $20,000, you have $18,000. It was already hard to live on 20k, living on 18k and having your needs met is even harder.

Your examples reveal your bias. Most people don't make $100,000. And it's the "most people" that you would impact hardest with the flat tax scheme.

[briandear]

If you looked at the Ted Cruz tax plan from the 2016 campaign, he advocated for a 10% tax on individuals with a high standard dedication and a 16% tax on business income. Taxpayers making under $50k would have paid zero under his plan.

It is possible to do a flat tax while protecting the poor.

But, as Milton Friedman said, the tax code is complex for a reason — it gives politicians a means to exert power and reward or punish. With a simple tax code, the incentive to donate to campaigns would be reduced. The Democrat and Republican establishment both oppose simplifying the tax code because they would be killing the golden geese that keep getting them re-elected. It’s no accident that the tax code changes literally every year. Politicians are busy rewarding or punishing constituencies.

[zacharycohn]

$50k -> $45k is still a much bigger impact than $1M to $900k.