Tax policy expert Scott Hodge joins to discuss how America’s complex tax code impacts your daily life, punishes success, and what real reform could look like.

Guest bio: Scott Hodge is President Emeritus and Senior Policy Advisor at the Tax Foundation, where he served as president from 2000 to 2022. A leading voice on tax reform, he played a key role in shaping the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and is the author of Taxocracy: What You Don’t Know About Taxes and How They Rule Your Daily Life.

Topics discussed:

• Why the U.S. tax code grew from 27 pages to over 7,000
• The hidden layers of taxation on income, savings, and estates
• How tax exemptions fuel lobbying, inequality, and corruption
• Problems with tax credits for EVs, education, and housing
• The IRS as a welfare agency and the rise of improper payments
• How nonprofits, universities, and credit unions game the system
• The sustainability of Social Security and U.S. national debt
• Lessons from Estonia’s 88-page flat tax system
• The myth of “tax the rich” and the real income tax burden
• Why U.S. tax policy often punishes success and risk-taking

Top quote:
"The tax code has become a tool for punishing success—success taxes are the new sin taxes."

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
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