I am generally ok with your proposal, but the tricky part is how you specifically define taxable income. All value received (benefits, perks, etc.) should be included as income. Also, there should be no such thing in this system as a deduction or tax credit. In fact eliminating charitable deductions is long overdue. It is crazy that private individuals can make public policy through large deductable contributions. Finally, there is really no reason that you must have only one tax rate. You could easily have higher brackets at higher incomes without too much complication.