Posted on 12/18/2005 4:46:00 PM PST by FairOpinion
YES! 83% (8832 votes) A consumption tax would be great for the American economy. Do away with complicated income taxes!
NO! 17% (1761) A consumption tax would not be fair for low-income households. Keep the current income tax system!
We'll send your vote to your congressional representative and senators.
This is a site that it's a "voting site", you can vote on many issues. It's run by Dick Morris, but the site per se is neither conservative, nor liberal.
With all that said, it's still interesting that such overwhelming majority would vote yes on this question.
Since they also ask your e-mail and zip code, I think they really do send the results to the Senators and Representatives, which is good, so they can have an idea what their constituents are thinking.
Interesting poll, though nonscientific.
People can still vote, it's still open, but the results to dare are very promising regarding people's acceptance of Fair Tax.
Open note to policy makers:
'Replace' does not mean the same things as 'add to'.
Fair Tax Ping!
I am happy that the U.S. election system is as non-scientific poll as this one, in that anyone can vote as long as you are a legal U.S. citizen and have not committed a felony.
It's the only truly fair tax (if I can only afford a Kia, I'm paying less than the guy who plunks down his dough on a Rolls).
I think the government hates the idea because it would provide an ongoing referendum on government's performance (economy good, government gets lots of dough; economy bad, government suffers). And I'm sure IRS and H&R Block employees aren't exactly gassed about the prospect, either.
83% of poll respondents are out of the mainstream. Everyone knows that.
Looks good!
I prefer the fairer, flat-tax.
Yes, that needs to be said - over and over!
Otherwise we know what the goons will do.
LVM
"With all that said, it's still interesting that such overwhelming majority would vote yes on this question."
One wonders how many 'fair tax' websites are pinging this poll.
But, to be serious, self-selecting polls attract only those with strong opinions on the subject. It's really not all that surprising that the results are skewed this way. Just don't be surprised that it's not at all representative of the population.
My question is this...how does this affect the local and state sales taxes around the country? If we pay 23% on a federal level and then another 7-9% for state and local taxes how is this a deal for anyone?
I am still not sold on the Fair Tax. I'm open to learning about it more, but I like Steve Forbes response to it and I'm still in the Milton Freedman, U of Chicago camp, in preferring the flat tax. I'm willing to consider anything, but the Fair Tax appears to be a Libertarian approach versus a conservative approach. Meaning, it sounds good on paper but unworkable considering realities of life.
Anything that would lessen the political influence and make the tracking of the taking of earned funds more understandable to the individual will make such a directive a moot one.
Politics to politicians holds precidence over expediency and as long as politicians are the "lawmakers" it ain't goona' happen.
My best guess is you would simply add a penny or two cents to what your state charges as the Fed's share. That's another reason why moving to a national sales tax would be a fairly easy changeover -- the infrastructure is already there.
A penny or two?...no try 23 pennys per dollar. That makes your real tax rate around 30% assuming you have a state sales tax.
First off, it will be percieved as regressive and so there will be a complicated series of negotiations over the rates on "necessities" versus "luxuries" with all of the political pork barrel politics which goes with that.
Second, there will be a move to hide the tax by moving toward an "all taxes included" pricing (as is the case with sales of gasoline now in the US). This will (as it has in socialist Europe) further confuse the populace as to the actual sources of government revenues.
Lastly, paying taxes should "hurt". It shouldn't be painless. Everyone, at each economic transaction, should be asking whether their hard-earned money is being well-spent. Raising the sales tax would weaken that feeling.
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