Untangling Tax Reforms: Simple Taxes, Complex Choices

Abstract

This Article applies concepts of empowerment to two tax reform proposals: The Freedom and Fairness Restoration Act of 1995 (Armey Flat Tax) and the USA Tax Act of 1995 (Nunn-Domenici Tax). The concepts of "avoidance power," the power to avoid the imposition of taxes, and "burden power," the power to shift the economic burden that taxes impose, are both analyzed in the context of these tax proposals. The author considers the degree of avoidance and burden power conferred by each proposal, and concludes with some observations regarding the values implicated by the distribution of power each proposal would produce.