GUEST, you said: "

"Why should I pay for highway funding with my taxes? I live in the city, commute to work by bus, bike & foot. How about I
stop supporting all you suburbanites ability to live in one place, and work in another?

Why should my taxes support people making irresponsible and costly decisions to live so far from work?" I don't think you made the point you were trying to make. You DID make in your later post so OK, but I don't see how you could expect anyone to pull the idea of "for the common good" out of the post which I have quoted.
Bobert, I guess I wasn't specific enough. The 24% tax idea that you mentioned is the one that looks to me like the beaurocratic nightmare. I don't know how much of a problem VAT is in that regard. Perhaps one of our UK members (McGrath?) or Canadians (L.H.?) could weigh in on that one.
I like the idea of a flat tax myself. Clobber everybody from the gitgo and let us get on with our lives. Tax everyone X per cent and NOTHING more.
But it'll never be passed into law.
Why?
Because the only real power that the Federal Government has is the power to raise monmey through taxation and to grant favors through tax breaks and they ain't agonna give that up!
If a flat atx were to be enacted, their power would be so reduced as to be useless in any meaningful sense.
You want to work for something really meaningful and worthwhile? Work for tax reform. Civil rights, anti-war, peace? All meaningless unless the power to tax indiscriminately (or not tax) is removed from the Federal Government (congress) so that we all get to keep more of what we work for.

troll