Steve Forbes has testified before Congress, in support of a 17% flat tax. First, it is not a “pure” flat tax. “Exemptions for individuals and children would be expanded so that a family of four would pay no federal income taxes on its first $46,165 of income. Anything over $46,165 would be taxed at a fair and flat rate of 17%. Millions of people would be off the federal income-tax rolls.” Second, 17% sounds attractive even to the working poor, who typically see a quarter of their checks squandered by deductions, but they need to look again at their paystub: Federal income tax is a small portion of their total withholding, so this isn’t nearly as attractive as it might sound.