This book is the best examination of this that I've found: We Are Better Than This by Edward Kleinbard. It uses comparative analyses of different countries and historical examples from our country. it blows all the Republican arguments out of the water. And the author is truly an expert, not some wannabe expert.
bottom line: we severely underfund our government.
> When people get extra write-offs they feel like they are saving more money than if you just reduce their taxes by say 2%. They feel like they are "getting one over" on the government. Hell I have a friend who tries to get a zero dollar tax refund from the government, people look at him like he is crazy, they don't realize he is just paying as minimal as possible.
The problem with write-offs is that the cost of compliance means a lot of people—especially in lower income brackets—won't ever get the write-offs even if they're entitled to them. You're increasing administrative costs for what you perceive to be greater "visibility." Visibility of what? What is the behavior you are trying to encourage with "visibility"? Saving? Or spending? I guaranty there are better ways to accomplish either goal.
>The other thing is a single mom with 2 kids should be paying far less in taxes than a single person with no kids.
We have a refundable child tax credit that already does this. It's a $2,000 "write off" per kid, but unlike a "write off," if it reduces your tax liability below zero, the government will send you up to $1400.
What I'm gathering from this conversation is that you have a lot of intuitive good ideas about how taxes should work, but you haven't studied the current system or any academic scholarship in the field enough to know how your pretty good ideas map onto what already exists. A lot of people smarter than me (probably smarter, and at least better versed) who share the same concerns and policy goals that it looks like you and I share have studied these problems, extensively. I'll leave you with some recommended reading if you're interested in learning more about the subject; it's a book from my late tax policy professor, Ed Kleinbard, who was probably the most knowledgeable person on these topics I've ever had the good fortune to meet and learn from. He was former chief of staff on the joint committee on taxation. Really great guy, and I strongly recommend his book. https://www.amazon.com/Are-Better-Than-This-Government/dp/019933224X
>If we were to add a VAT we need to remove all state sales tax, which the VAT is just a graduated sales tax. But I don't think we should have a sales tax at all, you are already paying tax on your income.
Some of those in the field believe a VAT would be a far superior system b/c it's a consumption tax. The idea is that we shouldn't tax capital b/c that's useful for investment that grows the economy—savings, after all, is just delayed consumption. I don't agree with that proposal b/c I think concentration of capital in the hands of a tiny number of people is itself a bad thing for society—concentrating too much power in the hands of too few—but if you didn't share that concern, a VAT (with a credit or write off for basic necessities) is probably a superior tax system.