Socialists in Bulgaria Pondering Flat Tax or Tax Rate Reductions

American politicians, even supposed conservatives, are timid about embracing tax reform, yet left‐​wing parties in Eastern Europe are slashing tax rates and adopting simple and fair flat taxes. The latest example comes from Bulgaria, where the Socialist Party is trying to decide between across‐​the‐​board tax cuts and a 10 percent flat tax:

Bulgarian socialists will discuss plans to impose a flat tax rate at the party congress that starts on Saturday, the event’s agenda shows. …The Socialists are the senior partner in the three‐​way ruling coalition and hold half of the 16 ministerial portfolios. The party has singled out lowering the individual tax burden as one of its main priorities and will consider two proposals to achieve that goal. The first option is to lower the tax brackets to 10%, 16% and 24%, respectively. The second is to impose the 10% flat tax for all income above a certain tax‐​exempt amount.