Both the fair tax and flat tax can become onerous burdens (that means really big and a pain in the check book) if the Congress and Senate can’t control spending.
I bought and read the Fair Tax book. It sure sounds good and I definitely want tax reform. The flat tax sounds good to me also, as many other countries have chosen that and have seen their economies flourish.
Whether a fair tax or a flat tax, the folks who control the amount of tax revenue levied upon us determine how much we pay. There is nothing to stop them from raising either tax higer and higher. So I believe, in the end, it is who we elect and send to Washington D.C. that matters and not so much the system.
I could not agree with you more, SatinDoll.
HST, the FairTax would, because of its transparency and visibility, it would be very, very difficult for the Congress to raise the rate or change the tax base without citizen awareness while the issue was being debated.
Currently, the plethora of federal taxes, and the hidden nature of most of them, works to the great advantage of those who would manipulate the tax system for their own gain or to raise additional revenue.
IOW, by the time the average citizen figures out that his tax burden has increased, it is too late.
The way our Congress works demands that we the citizens practice Eternal Vigilance!
The problem with the flat tax is that it is income based.
THAT has always been the problem -- and it should be the solution. Every election for Senators and Congressmen the lazy majority of voters just punch in the name of the incumbent -- sending about 95-98 percent of the rascals - good and bad - beck to Washington.
There is not, and never has been, any group of over 535 people that is consistently 95+% efficient -- or honest, for that matter.
And the opportunity to change that is right in front of us every two years -- and, as a people, we blow it almost every time.
The REALLY IMPORTANT elections are not for the presidency (although that is important), they are for the Senate and House -- they control the pocketbook -- and they have the power to overrule any Clintoon-type crook that slimes his/her way into the White House.
If the people would just get off their butts and control Congress, taxes would not be a problem that needs the Fair Tax to cool thing off.