B.3. Comprehensive Reform Mandate

On or before the seventh anniversary of this Charter's ratification, Congress must submit a new, comprehensive taxation framework that is fair to the People. Every five years thereafter, Congress must revisit the taxation framework to ensure it remains fair.

This clause does three things. After an initial pause to allow most of the transition to this Charter to take effect, it requires Congress to submit a tax plan. But the requirement is deeper than that. It has a two-part requirement: it has to be comprehensive, and it has to be fair to the people.

The first element is comprehensiveness. That means the tax plan has to cover everything. Every loophole, every carve-out, every trigger, they all have to be in that one plan. And since it is a tax bill, there can be no riders! So, the American people will have an opportunity to see Congress working on a tax plan that covers all federal tax policy in the nation.

What do the American people believe about their taxes? In the words of Trevor Slattery, “Hey! It’s complicated.”[1] Jokes aside, Americans’ views on taxation are not simple to pin down. Like with most subjects, there is a partisan divide. In fact, partisanship is as powerful a predictor of a person’s views on taxation as is their income. (I won’t lie, that surprised me.) What is undoubtedly clear is that a majority (around 55%) believe the wealthy (defined as households with an annual income of $400,000) pay too little, and an overwhelming majority (around 70%) believe corporations pay too little.[2] What that says to me is that Americans believe the system is unfair.

The second element requires that the plan be fair to the people. That is a subjective element. What? Then how can it be enforced and measured? Since challenged review exists in this Charter,[3] it is a near certainty that a tax bill will get challenged. So how is it enforced, and who decides?

We enforce it. We decide if it’s fair to us.

Finally, after the first bill, this clause requires that Congress repeat the exercise every five years. Nothing says it can’t make supplemental changes in between these intervals. Regardless, every five years, Congress is obligated to put a comprehensive tax package together. It can be the same one from five years ago, or it can be something new, but it has to be the whole picture, and it has to be fair to the people.

This clause doesn’t mandate the mechanics of tax policy. What it does do is require a periodic comprehensive approach, and it demands that the approach be fair.

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[1] IRON MAN 3 (Marvel Studios 2013).

[2] Frank Newport, Where Americans Stand on Taxes, (Oct. 16, 2024), https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/652151/americans-stand-taxes.aspx.

[3] See Article I, Section 3.B.2.