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Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Apr 7, 2017
Simplified, Manageable, And Responsible Tax Act or the SMART Act
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the marginal income tax rates with a single rate of 17% on individual taxable income.
The bill redefines "taxable income" to mean the amount by which wages, retirement distributions, and unemployment compensation exceed the standard deduction. It also: increases the basic standard deduction,
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includes an additional standard deduction for dependents, and
includes the taxable income of each dependent child under the age of 14 in an individual's taxable income.
The bill revises the tax on corporations to: (1) replace it with a tax on every person engaged in a business activity equal to 17% of the business taxable income of such person; and (2) make the person engaged in the business activity liable for the tax, whether or not such person is an individual, a partnership, or a corporation. The bill imposes on employers a 17% tax on the value of excludable compensation provided during the year to employees. With respect to pension rules, the bill: (1) repeals rules relating to non-discrimination, contribution limits, and restrictions on distributions; and (2) revises rules relating to transfers of excess pension assets. The bill also repeals: the alternative minimum tax;
all income tax credits;
estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes; and
income tax provisions, except certain provisions relating to retirement distributions and tax-exempt organizations.
The bill prohibits Congress from considering legislation to make specified changes to tax policy unless Congress waives or suspends the prohibition with a three-fifths vote.
People & committees
Sen. Shelby, Richard C. [R-AL] · R–AL
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 11, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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