The more complex the code is, the more opportunity there is for loopholes.
That is if your complexity is limited to family size.
I agree that the more complex the code is, the more opportunity there is for loopholes. If they want to fix loopholes, then go ahead.
But, it is much harder and costly to support 1 child then to support 5 children. Therefore the larger family should be given a little more opportunity not to have to pay tax.
I can't justify raising the standard deduction for all married couples to 24,000, and then any penny you make above that to be taxed at 12%, since there would no longer be exemptions of $4,050 for each member of the family.
Currently a married couple with 1 child can make $24,750 tax free, while a married couple with 5 kids can make $40,950 tax free.
So to simplify things and use the 10% bracket, that is a savings of around $1500 of tax on the $15000 of taxable income.
I think anyone will agree that it costs more than $1500 a year to raise 5 children vs only 1 child no mstter what religion or race they may be from. So a parent with 5 children deserves to have more exemptions then a couple with 1 or 2 kids. I can't understand how it would be fair to eliminate exemptions.