Eliminate deductions / credits across the board. Doing so will:
1. Individuals / Companies will only report income and pay the difference between taxes paid vs taxes owed
2. IRS responsibility would limited to validating income. Currently, they are responsible for checking eligibility for deductions / credits, etc along with validating income.
3. Would vastly reduce the amount of people who cheat on their taxes every year.
4. By lowering taxes, you can easily offset the amount of money lost from eliminating deductions. A side bonus would be benefiting middle class who generally deduct very little.
5. It would eliminate welfare individuals who see a $8000 tax credit.