Cheese Moose!
Posted on 03/02/2004 10:23:45 PM PST by esarlls3
Congress Must Pass the Fair Tax Act
By U.S. Rep. Mac Collins
CNSNews.com Commentary
February 27, 2004
Past Congresses have moved in the wrong direction by making our tax laws more complex and expensive for business and individuals to comply with. To keep our economy growing, Congress needs to take action now.
My colleague, Georgia Republican Congressman John Linder, has sponsored the "Fair Tax Act" (H.R. 25), a national retail sales tax on new goods and services. It would replace all individual and corporate income taxes, payroll taxes as well as capital gains taxes, estate taxes and gift taxes.
The Fair Tax replaces the way we are currently taxed, which is based on our annual income, with a tax on goods and services. The Fair Tax, basically, is a voluntary "consumption" tax. The more you buy, the more you pay in taxes. The less you buy, the less you pay in taxes.
The federal government will continue to be fully funded, including Social Security and Medicare.
The Fair Tax will reduce the costs of goods and services by 20 to 30 percent. It will allow workers to keep 100 percent of their paycheck, pension and Social Security payments with the exception being state or local withholding
The Gross Domestic Product will increase by almost 10.5 percent in the first year after its enactment because real wages would increase and tax compliance costs for business would decrease by 90 percent.
The fair tax would also be good news for investors. Real investment will initially increase by 76 percent relative to investments that would be made under our present tax laws. While this increase will gradually decline, it remains 15 percent higher than under the existing tax structure.
American exports will increase by 26 percent initially and would remain more than 13 percent above present levels under the current tax system.
Studies of the Fair Tax have shown that many U.S. companies will choose expansion here in the United States versus abroad, and in turn the United States will become more attractive to many foreign owned companies looking for expansion possibilities.
President Bush, during his State of the Union address in January, said the economy is turning around because the American people are using their money far better than government would have. The Republican majority in Congress was right to return it to the American people and not keep it in Washington.
A fresh and a fairer approach to a Federal tax system is needed. Therefore, it is time for Congress to pass the Fair Tax (H.R. 25).
As a cosponsor of the Fair Tax Act, I have asked Chairman Thomas of the Ways and Means Committee to hold hearings on this vital legislation. I am hoping those hearings will get under way in the near future.
(Congressman Mac Collins is a Republican representing Georgia's 8th Congressional District. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Select Committee on Intelligence.)
Just killin time in between making enough money to feed the government thieves.
There are plenty of others that just stand in line to take your place, I assure you. I have about eight of them that are guaranteed to show up sooner or later.
I rest my case. You need a few debaters to keep this in the fore front because it has no legs of it's own, even on this supposedly conservative site.
Go to a "zot" thread and you'll see what's important to people here, 1000 posts in ten minutes. Lacy Peterson threads get the same amount or more. The "I hate Hillary" threads get huge numbers.
Sadly, real issues like this are off the radar screen. But hey, I'm happy to help you out, at least you have something important to talk about even if your cut and paste approach is raggedy.
Go to a "zot" thread and you'll see what's important to people here, 1000 posts
Hey a zot is just fun times my friend, you know, gives one something to do in between "series" and "hugh" rants ;O)
Least we don't get cheeze and moose jokes here.
In all fairness, your cut and pastes are nothing if not predictable, they have been pasted so many times I'm sure most don't have to read 'em, the memorized them by rote. LOL
But the same answer to my big question just doesn't cut it. I have given the government millions of my money at gun point over the last 36 years, and now that I'm ready to stop earning, you advocate that the system be switched to taxing me as I spend it. Ya got me coming and going, it's a problem for me.
You need a few debaters to keep this in the fore front because it has no legs of it's own, even on this supposedly conservative site.
If there were no debaters, my friend. The deed would have been done already.
The debaters for the most part see their favored niche in the tax code threatened, and of course they come out.
Something threatens your way of doing business, or your competitive advantage (income & payroll taxes avoided are a definite business advantage over those who stand in a less advantaged position.) looking to protect one's perceived niche is a common well understood reaction to any change.
So there will always be debaters. It is the quality of ones argument, and facts that can be brought in that inform the background readers of these threads.
For every one participant in these threads requesting to be added to the *taxreform ping list, I get about 5 lurkers that never or rarely reply in the tax threads but they are out there reading just the same.
Most folks are readers rather than participants of these tax threads because of the number and fact intensive nature of a tax debate, and these threads do get rough at times. So far recent threads have been very civil in comparison with some I have been read and contributed to in the past, "and that is a good thing" IIRC.
As focused as this administration has been on the War on Terror and re-election the past 3 yrs, I'm sure they wouldn't touch this with a million-foot poll right now. Funny thing is, they should. The Dems are absolutely gonna keep pounding on the jobs issue in general, outsourcing in particular. They see this as a great opportunity to cut into a traditionally Rep. voter block--white-collar workers--so they'll bemoan what's been happening yet offer no concrete solutions. Embracing serious tax reform excites the econ. conservatives (of which I am one and, believe me, there hasn't been much to get me excited the past year or so) and allow the Pres. to clearly differentiate himself on an economic issue from Kerry. The Amer. people aren't total idiots--some of the lines that can be drawn when explaining a consumption-based tax system are pretty clear. It'd take some political courage to do this, and this President has shown willingness to show some on other important issues. Why not this one?
You need debaters to keep these threads going. I wasn't referring to the "deed". Truth is, not enough people care about this even on this forum to give it legs. It's off the radar screen. Deader than Kelsey's nuts. It's a debate society for lonely old geezers and dreamers.
I think you are both, but it's all good. :^}
I'll cut and paste my own post in keeping with the thread rules. :^}
"I have given the government millions of my money at gun point over the last 36 years, and now that I'm ready to stop earning, you advocate that the system be switched to taxing me as I spend it. Ya got me coming and going, it's a problem for me."
That's the one that's not a niche, it's a huge problem, a real problem. I already paid for every lazy bastard in this country once, I'm not into doing it twice.
So true. Fundamental tax reform isn't likely to get legs anytime soon b/c the biggest proponents of such reform cannot agree on a single, "best" solution to promote. As long as the consumption vs income-based taxation debate rages on the Right, we're not moving forward anytime soon on enacting real change. OTOH, there's definite interest in making change along these lines; the short-lived yet still notable interest shown in Steve Forbes back in 1996 wasn't driven by his boyish charm or good looks, you know. Packaged and presented correctly, reintroducing fundamental tax reform to the electorate can be a real differentiator for Republicans this year AND do much to re-excite economic conservatives beaten down by the spending orgy we've seen in recent years.
I would imagine, in a situation like this, you can only make educated guesses at what the effects will be. There is really no way to know the answers until the experiment has been run.
I would support it BTW, in theory. I hate the Income tax, I hate the IRS, and except for the few small and legitimate things the government does, I hate them.
Absolutely no argument here.
BTW, you wouldn't get rid of the IRS in this system. Instead of what they do now, they would be kicking down doors ,,,looking for black marketeers.
I don't see this happening. Unless the black market problem grew so large that it was adversely effecting tax revenue it probably wouldn't be worth the effort, cost and pissed of populace.
Of course, the best answer to the black market would be to lower tax rates a bit so the incentive to cheat would be reduced.
I have given the government millions of my money at gun point over the last 36 years, and now that I'm ready to stop earning, you advocate that the system be switched to taxing me as I spend it. Ya got me coming and going, it's a problem for me.
You don't think I am in that particular boat now?
They have us coming and going anyway my friend. Apparently you missed one of the cut & pastes links LOL
DO YOU PAY YOUR INCOME TAX
AT THE SUPERMARKET?
by D. Sherman Cox J.D. L.L.M. Taxation
The effect of the federal tax system impacts prices all the way through consumption. That 1040 you are filing out each year really is only an accounting sheet drawing attention away from how most folks pay taxes and through the products and services they buy.
Overall 6% of consumption dollars are business income tax and another 6-7% in payroll taxes are paid into government revenues, beyond that are the compliance costs.
Those taxes everyone pays at the grocery and every other retail outlet.
With repeal of those taxes you will be doing no worse with your retirement and savings dollars than you do now with the added advantage that you will not be taxed on any investment earnings under the NRST, which you can be now.
When you add in the impact of FCA, I can't see where you can possibly help but find yourself in at least as good a position as you are now if not better. Add to this the substantive advantage of getting the IRS out of your personal financial affairs and there really are few reasons left to keep on going with income/payroll tax system we are saddled with today.
Does no one pay higher taxes with a NRST?
People avoiding or evading income & payroll taxes today, folks on welfare, and those in the cash underground economy will undoubtedly endup paying abit more taxes than they do now through business tax embedded in the retail purchases they can't avoid.
See post #185.
I agree that they should, but I don't see it as an Administration priority, unfortunately. On the plus side, Bush does seem to prefer flatter and simpler and he has a reluctance to use the veto pen, so I would image he'd sign it if Congress passes it.
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