In his Inquirer column, Temple economist Bill Dunkelberg writes that because the tax code is a mess, the "flat tax" is gaining popularity. According to Dunkelberg, we spend an estimated six billion hours filling out tax forms, keeping records and paying for professional help to give Uncle Sam his due. "A flat tax would be a boon for millions of small businesses, reducing the amount of time and money owners had to spend to deliver tax revenue to the government," he writes.