B.4. Enforcement Mechanism

Failure to meet the deadlines established in Article II, Section B.3 shall result in reversion to a simple flat percentage tax on all income and business revenues, regardless of type, as determined by the most recent budget requirements, until Congress enacts a compliant taxation framework.

Congress has a habit of blowing past deadlines or slow walking unpopular duties. For all of the reforms this Charter imagines, there is simply no fix for the basic human nature of avoidance. We all seek to avoid painful or harmful experiences. That’s what Congress is doing. Since that’s the case, there has to be deterrence. Deterrence works by making the alternative even worse. In essence, it recalibrates avoidance to avoid the deterrent instead.

This clause provides deterrence. Suppose Congress fails to act on tax policy by the mandated deadlines. In that case, the budget is divided according to the total income and revenue generated in the economy, and a flat tax is imposed on everyone. “But some people like a flat tax. This wouldn’t be a deterrent to them!” That’s not true—some people like what they call a flat tax. But a careful reading of this clause will show it requires the flat tax to apply to all income and all business revenue. There are no loopholes. No special rates. No exceptions. Dividends? Taxed. Capital gains? Taxed. Your business collected revenue but did not make a profit? Doesn’t matter – taxed. That is effective, but it would be so unpopular that no sane politician would allow that to happen.