Posted on 10/14/2011 11:38:51 AM PDT by Brookhaven
Haha. Nice.
This is dated 2001, but it will give you some insight:
http://www.ipi.org/ipi%5CIPIPublications.nsf/0/3F31DF6F0D040EE986256AB700630B84/$File/PR160-HiddenTax-FINAL.pdf
SNIPPETS:
Federal income taxes represent only 42 percent of the total tax burden
of U.S. taxpayers. The remainder is hidden, distorting taxpayers’
awareness of their real tax burden and of the true cost of government.
Only fundamental tax reform with an emphasis on visibility can ensure
a fair tax code that allows taxpayers to evaluate
whether they are getting their money’s worth from government.
Congress has imprisoned American taxpayers in a cave where the tax code they see is merely a distorted
image of what they truly pay in taxes. Only through reform and total visibility will taxpayers clearly realize the current level of taxation imposed upon them. Until then, the tax code will continue to be what it
is today: a grossly distorted shadow that cannot, and should not, pass for the truth.
I would imagine mainly corporate income tax. Probably with some other taxes and fees thrown in like employer payroll taxes. I thought the 22% figure sounded low.
It's the result of the federal income tax on businesses. The FairTaxers have been keeping track of this for years, as it is part of their argument as to why we should get rid of the income tax.
The number varies between 15% and 29%, depending on the product. The average for all products is 22%. You can go FairTax.org and get much more detailed info than I could post here.
22% is the assumption that Fair Tax uses for embedded costs
Spot on! As I've mentioned before re Cain's plan, too many people lack critical thinking skills. They leap before they think through a process.
I just hated that they used 22% and didn’t back it up with any kind of analysis. Makes it sound like they pulled it out of thin air.
No doubt. The problem is some have genuine questions or concerns and others are just attacking thinking that somehow helps their candidate. And, it's hard to tell the difference, sometimes. You end up fussing at someone who was just asking a question.
I thought Herman Cain had a good comeback for this in the last debate.
Politicians spend so much time focusing on whether or not something can get passed, that they fail to focus on solutions that will work. That's why we keep kicking problems down the road instead of fixing them.
Maybe we won't be able to pass it, but we know the results of not even trying. At some point, we've got to make a legitimate attempt to fix problems instead of putting another band-aid on them so our kids will have to deal with a bigger problem in the future.
I'm ready to make a real attempt to fix our long term problems now. Maybe it will blow up in my face, but I'm ready to try anyway.
I agree. The way they didn't explain it makes me wonder if they pulled it from someone else's study and didn't want to attribute it. I may do some research this weekend to see if I can find either where the 22% came from or a study on the embedded taxes. The other good thing about the sales tax versus the corporate income tax, assuming that is what their figure is, is that the reduction helps domestic companies more, since they are the ones paying the high rates.
I'm not sure if it's ignorance, or a knee-jerk reaction because it was proposed by someone "that wasn't my candidate."
Cain proposed it? Bad, bad, it's an evil plan that will destroy the country. Yes, that's what I think of Cain's plan to declare January national "puppies are cute" month. No I don't want to know the details or discuss its merits, I just know it has to be destroyed to help my guy get the nomination.
But yea, the fact that people can't even keep the difference between a VAT and a sales tax straight is disheartening.
Although I am no fan of the NST, I understand some of the appeal. Again, though, this is a classic case of “we’ll just have to see how it works out.” I’ve seen some say that employees will quickly get a 15% raise, since payroll taxes would be eliminated, which of course would never happen. Politically, it’s a tough sell as well, adding another tax to the already overburdened taxpayer.
Gonna take a lotta convincing and faith for any such plan.
“That’s why we keep kicking problems down the road....”
Yep. Problem is we’ve reached the end of the road. Folks better wrap their heads around Cain’s plan, or one equally drastic, soon.
Yes, I agree. Conservative's are going to have to go into education mode for awhile. It will take tireless hours of showing people the real numbers in a convincing way. We will also have to overcome the BS and obfuscation that will be introduced from the left and the Republican establishment trying to hold onto power.
The temptation is to SCREAM at somebody that they are being dense, but that probably hurts the cause in the long run.
It would help if Rush got on board.
I wish I could give proper credit but I can’t find who posted this logic originally:
Our GDP is $14 trillion. Our federal spending is $4 trillion. Therefore the private sector is responsible for $10 trillion dollars of the GDP. The $4 trillion the government spends comes from taxes on the private sector, therefore we have an effective tax rate of 40%. Now our wise leaders have deferred a large part of that taxation by borrowing the money instead, clever them.
“Then where does it go from there?”
The same place the current system goes. Up.
Point is, it’ll be much easier to keep tabs on them trying to raise a VISIBLE tax.
***
Elections and Conservatives have kept the income tax from going to “infinity and beyond”, and they’ll work on the sales tax too.
With a sales tax, the following are turned into taxPAYERS:
1) illegals
2) welfare recipients with big screens
3) section 8 people with BMWs
That’s the best thing about as far as I’m concerned. The freeloaders finally have to a pay into the programs they use up.
[ With a sales tax, the following are turned into taxPAYERS:
1) illegals
2) welfare recipients with big screens
3) section 8 people with BMWs ]
NAILED IT!
What does the Cain plan do about federal gasoline taxes?
Snarky comment for your readers. Maybe you had to make it because you were about to try to baffle them with bullshit.
That "hidden sales tax"? Under 999 it's still there - corporate income tax is still passed down from producer to producer to producer and finally to the final consumer.
But under 999, national sales tax is then added on top of that passed-down "hidden" sales tax. Wow, sounds like a great plan.
Oh, but we don't have to worry, because Congress won't raise taxes that everyone can see - Congress only raises taxes that people can't see.
You mean taxes like the corporate income tax, right? The one that is now being passed down as your "hidden sales tax"?
The one which will be the first that Congress raises after 999 is passed? And why? You said it - because it's hidden, and then passed on to the consumer, just like now.
And once that happens, and the magical 999 number is broken up into 9-20-9 or something, then each tax will be declared separate, and... raised.
Get real.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.