Ah, a rebate! Now you've messed with the whole thing. Well, at least it won't distort prices, but now I'm starting to wonder if it would effect work/leisure choices?
Actually it isn't even a "rebate", it is referred to as the Family Consumption Allowence, a fixed amount paid each month to all legal residents. Every household gets it, depending only on number of legal residents in the household. Every one from Hermit the Hobo to Bill Gates qualifies for it as it is not dependant upon one's income. Works more like the personal exemption(which it is designed to take the place of) of the income tax.)
The FCA works like this:
All legal residents will receive a FCA equivalent to the FairTax paid on essential goods and services. The FCA will be paid in advance, in equal installments each month. The size of the monthly FCA will be determined by the government's Poverty Level for a particular family size, multiplied by the tax rate.
Every year, the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] determine the "poverty level" for each family size.
|
The 2001 "FairTax" Family Consumption Allowance Figures |
|||
|
Family Size |
HHS Poverty Level |
Annual FCA |
Monthly FCA |
|
One |
$8,590 |
$1,976 |
$165 |
|
Two |
$17,180 |
$3,951 |
$329 |
|
Three |
$20,200 |
$4,646 |
$387 |
|
Four |
$23,220 |
$5,341 |
$445 |
|
Five |
$26,240 |
$6,035 |
$503 |
|
Six |
$29,260 |
$6,730 |
$561 |
|
Seven |
$32,280 |
$7,424 |
$619 |
|
Eight |
$35,300 |
$8,119 |
$677 |
1) Federal Register: February 16, 2001, Pages 10695-10697).
[ The monthly FCA for each adult is .23 * (HSS poverty level for a single person)/12 to assure no marriage penalty due to the manner in which the poverty level is dependant on family size. The monthly FCA for each child is .23 * (the incremental increase of HSS poverty level for a family with one child over no child) ] A. Geezer
A family of four, for example, could spend $23,220 per year free of tax because they will have received over the course of the year rebates totaling $5,341. $5,341 is the amount of sales tax paid on $23,220 in expenditures. A family spending double the "poverty level" or $46,440 per year will effectively pay tax on only half of their spending and, therefore, have an effective tax rate of 11 ½ percent or half the FairTax rate.
The beauty of the FairTax is that you can control how much you pay in taxes. If you happen to save, invest or spend a portion on used [previously taxed] items, you can get your effective tax rate below 9%.
[71] To illustrate the plan's progressive nature we can examine the tax burden that a family of four will have at various annual income levels (or in this case, annual spending levels).
Not only does every family receive a FCA based on family size, not income, but they will also receive 100% of their paycheck:
Fedup Smith makes $39K per year...once the FairTax is the law of the land he will receive an instant increase in pay of $200.00 per week. Since he has a family of four, he will receive a FCA of $445 per month, for a total of $1,305.00 additional income per month that he can do with as he sees fit