Lets return to Alice and Joe from Exercise 23. We learn that Joe actually made 600,000 but his taxable income was only 300,000 because of various deductions allowed by the system in 2016. Proponents of the flat tax say that many of these deductions should be eliminated, so the 17% flat tax should be applied to Joes entire 600,000.

a. What would Joes tax be under the 17% flat tax? b. How much more tax would Joe pay than under the 2016 system? c. How much income would Joe have to make for the 17% flat tax to equal the amount he pays in the year 2016 with a taxable income of 300,000 d. When you compare Alice and Joe now, what do you think about the fairness of the flat tax versus a progressive tax?