Why not abandon income tax and associated loopholes altogether. If replaced by consumption taxes, business expenses will become taxable, rather than being written off as pre-tax expenses. Consider a flat consumption tax on new goods and services. Low income taxpayers can escape most tax if they are willing to buy used goods. A consumption tax has a broader effective taxable population, so it should have a lower rate than the average effective income tax. People drawing their income from gray and black market activities (cash businesses, prostitutes, bookies, drug dealers, and illegal aliens) will no longer be subsidized by the middle class. Even tourists will contribute. I hope to put together a team interested in building a long term agent-based simulation of such a consumption tax policy. Getting grant money will be easier with the right people. If interested, please let us know at: Thanks, Mike