If you pay a person $100 wages, and then you send in $23 tax, the "gross payment" would be $123 as defined by the FairTax bill. ("including Federal taxes imposed by this titel")
You would have remitted $23 out of the $123 total gross payment, which is only 18.7% of the gross payment, so you will be short of the 23% required by the law. In order to come into compliance, you will need remit another $6.87.
At this point, you would have given the employee $100, and paid $29.87 in tax, and the gross payments would now be $129.87. Since $29.87 tax out of the $129.87 gross payments is 23%, you would now be in compliance with the law.
That is assuming they didn't charge you any extra penalty, or throw you in jail for fraudulent tax evasion due to pretending such a stupid math error when the correct method is so clearly spelled out in the bill.
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DIRECT WORDS FROM THE BILL:
(a) IN GENERAL- There is hereby imposed a tax on the use or consumption in the United States of taxable property or services.
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SERVICE- For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `service'--
`(i) shall include any service performed by an employee for which the employee is paid wages or a salary by a taxable employer
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WAGES AND SALARY- The terms `wage' and `salary' mean all compensation paid for employment service including cash compensation, employee benefits, disability insurance, or wage replacement insurance payments, unemployment compensation insurance, workers' compensation insurance, and the fair market value of any other consideration paid by an employer to an employee in consideration for employment services rendered.
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In the calendar year 2005, the rate of tax is 23 percent of the gross payments for the taxable property or service.
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GROSS PAYMENTS- The term `gross payments' means payments for taxable property or services, including Federal taxes imposed by this title.
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It is black and white. You and pigdog are wrong on this point as we have been telling you for months...
Who was the guy that denated boortz recently.... hmmmm... what does he say about it. Do you know?
THis isn't the situation with a gov't employee. You are putting forth a maid (for example). The maid who is paid $100 in wages will have a tax of 29.87. She is selling a service for which you are paying a wage.
There is no service being sold for a gov't employee. Gov't services are simply provided (like a 911 operator). There is no tax to pay on the sale of the non-existent service - hence the tax is 23% of $100, or $23.
This rule is to prevent gov't from choosing to simply hire more people instead of contracting to private companies. Without the rule, gov't could hire for much less than it can contract work out.