I thought the 9-9-9 was to remove FICA and Medicare taxes. It does. It also replaces the double taxation in the current system. For example in the current tax code capital gains are taxed then taxed again as income. In 9-9-9 you pay one flat rate 1 time.
You pay 3 flat rates, 1 time each.
The 9-9-9 plan is going to be an effective individual tax rate of somewhere between 9% and 27%, depending on percentage of income spent.
The base 9% on income is right there in the plan.
Then 9% sales tax, which is also paid by the individual but only on what they spend. Spend 100% of your income, and you are now up to 18% tax rate.
And the 9% on corporations will just be included in the price of products, also applies only to what you spend, but still paid by the individual consumer. Again, spend 100% of your income and you are now up to 27% tax rate.
It really depends on how much of your income you spend. If you spend 100% of your income, your tax will be 27%. If you spend half your income, your tax will only be 18%. Rich enough to spend only 1% of your income, your tax rate is 9.18%
The poor will be paying closer to 27% and the rich will be paying closer to the 9%. Politically, that plan won’t be popular. And it will be skewered by the Dems in the general as huge cuts for the rich and huge increases for the poor.
The FairTax, which Herman at one point supported, is a much better plan than this one. Plus it includes a Constitutional Amendment banning the Income Tax.