[hnmonkey]

Or... you tax people that are rich more and it seems to solve your problem. Wiping the slate clean and starting tax law from scratch is not going to happen. It would cripple the economy and would affect every business and many people.

[munk-a]

You have a point, it would be disruptive. I believe it's the right move for the long term but there may be a better way to approach introducing it - suddenly cutting out any deductions for charitable giving would likely bankrupt those charities before government subsidization or non-tax deductible giving could pick up the slack, for instance.

[hnmonkey]

Agreed, it would have to be phased in/out over time in a very smart way to not crush businesses and accountants. Doable perhaps over a long span of time if everyone agrees to it but man would it be a longshot. I'd imagine it would still have devastating second and third order consequences that aren't apparent until it's too late.