Posted on 04/03/2016 7:38:50 AM PDT by Arthur Wildfire! March
As I understand it, a VAT tax is very different than a national sales tax because it taxes every level of production and distribution.
That gives imported products a grossly unfair advantage.
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For example -- the price of a screw.
First the ore value is taxed.
Then the smelted steel value is taxed.
Then the steel distributer is taxed.
Then after the screw is made, the value of the screw is screwed again.
Then the screw wholesale value is screwed.
Then the retail value is screwed again -- the only visible aspect of the tax. The rest of the screwing is hidden in the price.
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But if you simply import foreign made screws, then you bypass almost all of the layers of 'value added' taxing.
It would make manufacturing at home harder than ever. The only screws being made here would be corporate welfare.
Not sure if this is correct. If I'm mistaken, I hope someone corrects me.
If my vague understanding is correct, then this would be free trade on steroids.
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This plan was criticized in February. Did 'anti-establishment' Senator Ted Cruz change his tax plan recently?
While I advise everyone to pay taxes [simply to avoid penatlies], as I understand it the income tax amendment was improperly written and thus unconstitutional.
All a huge mess, all the better for tax brokers.
It could be that stealth tariffs and tariff compensation through VATS might be smart governence, but ...
As a campaign issue?
Cruz has failed to make his case so far.
Good point. VATS should only apply where they help our economy.
Software companies? Not a good idea.
But to be honest, I have trouble fully grasping it quickly.
This is a tough campaign issue to run on.
Sure, Cruz has “failed to make his case,” and his wife isn’t pretty either.
So, would you tell me, in your own words, what is this tax that Trump is going to apply to imports coming in from Mexico?
I will say this: certain aspects of these VATS would make us more competitive. I give Cruz credit for that.
And who knows? I would not be surprised if Heidi explained the ‘vat gap’ to him.
Based on post-responses here, I hope Trump also plans to implement some vats.
In the meantime, his shorthand, ‘smarter trade’, is probably a good idea during the campaign.
I am retired but owned a very successful S Corp business for many years. I would have loved to only have a 10% Federal income tax rate! We had a very labor intensive business, but the elimination of the payroll tax and deduction of capital expenditures should still probably allow the owner to come close to the current situation depending on labor and capital costs in there cost structure.
For some businesses, it my pay to switch to C Corp status. S Corp primarily became popular because the corporate rate was higher than the individual rate. If you have low cap ex and very high labor cost, a C Corp might generate less tax burden.
Per Cruz website: Eliminates a current competitive disadvantage for American products through border adjustability: foreign imports will be subject to the Business Flat Tax and American exports will have the tax removed, giving U.S. businesses a level playing field.
...and there you go, spewing myths. The income duty (tax) and the Dept. of Internal Revenue, as we know them today, were created by the Internal Revenue Act of 1862. This statute is the core foundation of the IRS Code, only the numbers have changed in regards to withholding (yes, there was withholding back then), deductions & the base amount one can make before having to pay income taxes.
So NO, Friedman did not invent the withholding, but he was very much a key influential person in its blanket reinstatement. He knew darn well what that would do and he went ahead and promoted it anyway and we know this by the many books and articles he has written and not one time has he ever spoken of the difference between privileged activity and unprivileged activity and how each year, the earnings of 10’s of millions of unprivileged workers are duped into believing that their earnings are wages for the purposes of the income tax. Not once did he ever write about the truth of the government paying back to the citizenry, that which was unlawfully withheld from their unprivileged earnings. It is written in the IRS code, sections 3402 & 3121, that not all business/work related activities that produce money are activities subject to the income tax and Friedman knew this you through all those years as he witnessed the abuse grow and grow, he kept silent. I have no respect for a man who is willing to sell out his brethren for a piece of the DC mafia profits.
AND FYI, it is NOT the responsibility of the government or its agency known as the IRS to teach you & I the law. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves about the law and then apply it as it is written. Income, wages, salary, trade, business, corporation, charity, etc., etc., these all are legal terms of art that have specific definitions within the code so one cannot go to the Webster's dictionary and use that definition lest they either find themselves in jail or paying heavy interest & fines on a tax they actually never owed in the first place.
... and I advise everyone to educate themselves and only pay the taxes they owe. That is what we do each year and we haven't paid one dime in income or FICA taxes since we quit being involved in privileged activity over 10 years ago. Yes, we do pay other taxes to the IRS annually, just not income or FICA taxes because the nature of our business right now does not subject us to those two forms of the excise taxes.
And about those who say the 16th wasn't ratified because of typos... well, Irwin Schiff died in prison for trying to use that as an excuse. I do not advise it, I advise learning the law and then applying as it is written. works for millions of us every year.
NO VAT! We are taxed enough already. No more taxes none! Zero! Na-Da!!
It does not matter what corp you have you are now paying tax on money you never had to pay tax on before and you are being taxed twice on your own income. Its a lousy tax plan by a lawyer who never ran a popcorn stand. Have you read this thread? Nobody thinks this is a good plan .
But you are playing much lower rates. I ran a series of scenarios, and it is not that different.
As a way to boost exports, sure.
Not sure it would be the best way to fund the government.
snip-—
Most significantly, the TPP does not address a massive cost to U.S. goods and services that has a chokehold on our export levels: foreign Value-Added Tax (VAT) schemes.
As usual the ‘devil’ is in the details.
‘Not sure it would be the best way to fund the government.’
That’s what I woke up thinking. Exactly.
Confusion invites corruption.
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