There is No Such Thing as a Fair Tax

Ludwig von Mises Institute ^ | 12/12/2005 | Laurence Vance

[annie laurie]

Heh! I love it! :)

[Spitzensparkin1]

Go man go!

So far you got me convinced the "fair" tax is anything but fair. I hate it when they attempt to sneak in bad law by thinking up a name that sounds like the exact opposite of what it means to us in real life. A "fair" tax; my red, white and blue butt! It's no such thing!

[msf92497]

The only tax that would be "fair" would be a voluntary tax.

[lewislynn]

So the fair tax isn't perfect, it's a whole lot better than what we have now

. How would you know that?

[appeal2]

Well we still save thousands in accounting and tax preparation fees.

[Doctor Stochastic]

...Boortz specifically mentions exemptions for Internet access services and tuition...

It's just another scheme for social engineering.

[annie laurie]

I was actually responding to dr huer's comment:

Move tax day to the vicinity of election day, say the first week in October, a month before voting.

I like his idea. I think taxes would become a much heavier (pun somewhat intended) factor in elections if this were done, since the pain would still be fresh in our minds on election day ;-)

[MD_2_BE]

Maybe you should read up on the FairTax before you fly off the handle. Contrary to what this particular nay-sayer is spewing, the FairTax offers the best hope for significant tax reform.

A simple, transparent method of taxation. Items are taxed ONCE and you keep what you earn. Once the Feds are off the Income Tax teat, it will simply be a matter of time before we can kick the states off it too.

http://www.fairtaxvolunteer.org/smart/faq-main.html#1

[mc6809e]

The only kind of fair tax is that tax which charges you in proportion to the government services you consume.

For example, the more expensive stuff that you have, the more you should pay to protect it.

Or, the more time you spend on the road, the more should should pay for its up-keep. Gas taxes are actually pretty fair in this regard. If you don't drive, you don't have to pay for roads.


On the other hand, taxes that you pay so someone else gets service are wrong.

I'd even go as far as to say that each person should pay a minimum amount simply to pay for the protection of their own person. That, or join the Army/Police/etc and help do the job yourself!

[Shion]

I only got to problem #2 because it's late and I'm doing laundry, but you've got two problems:

First the need to change the way taxes are spent is not immediate to the Fair Tax idea. Once people are able to see their taxes actually coming out of their wallets when they go to the store, they'll be much more likely to crack down on the gov't for spending like Paris Hilton with daddy's Visa.

Secondly, it is a voluntary tax. If you use your money to buy items that are considered essentials and under the prebate "budget" you're essentially paying no taxes IIFC.

[MD_2_BE]

"I didn't have to listen to him very long to realize he's a loudmouth buffoon."

Following that same logic, what could I conclude from this post?

[EternalVigilance]

This means that the FairTax idea should have been discarded at the very beginning, for instead of saying that it was not fair that the government confiscate 10, 20, 30, or 40 percent of a man's income, the FairTax proponents did not even begin to tackle the root of the problem: the welfare/warfare state that drives the federal leviathan's insatiable lust for the taxpayer's money.

The author is too stupid to even know the difference between taxing and spending.

His screed just goes downhill from there.

[fooman]

I am less excited about the fair tax after reading this. New items could be leased for a week and then sold as used.

[EternalVigilance]

Sorry to hear that.

It's too bad you're susceptible to such tripe as this article represents.

[fooman]

I have not heard how we handle the used good problem. or collection enforcement problem etc.

[EternalVigilance]

There is no 'used good problem'. Used goods simply aren't taxed.

Collection and enforcement are far easier than under an income tax, by far.

The only ones reporting and sending in tax money are those who make retail sales.

And that, as anyone who has been in the retail trade will tell you, is about as easy as any form of taxation can be: Figure your total sales, compute what you owe, and remit the funds.

Most of the states, about 46 I think, already have a simple, efficient and noninvasive sales tax collection system in place.

Those who can't see how much more prosperity and freedom we will have under this system are either blind, stupid or misled.

[EternalVigilance]

Can't stand Neil Boortz, really.

But I believe in giving credit where credit is due.

He's exactly right on taxation, unlike yourself and the author of this worthless piece of pro-status quo propaganda.

Like yourself, the writer offers nitpicking around the edges, but not a single convincing argument against the overall concept of replacing income taxation with a national retail sales tax.

[hripka]

New items could be leased for a week and then sold as used.

Smart thinking!

[hripka]

Move tax day to the vicinity of election day, say the first week in October, a month before voting.

Eliminate Withholding and you will see REAL tax reform within a year.

[EternalVigilance]

Tinkering with the income tax has been the game the politicians have played for almost a hundred years now.

It's a shell game. It's not the solution. The income tax, any income tax, is fundamentally flawed from its inception.

It's one of the planks of the communist manifesto.

Direct taxation is contrary to freedom. Always has been, always will be.