IOWA CITY — Pitching the current 72,000-page U.S. tax code and replacing it with a flat income tax, as a majority of Republican presidential candidates propose, may be a pipe dream.

For now, the plans “amount to a good conversation-starter,” said National Taxpayers Union Executive Vice President Pete Sepp. The nonprofit, nonpartisan citizen group advocates for lower taxes and small government at all levels, including here via Iowans for Tax Relief.