Posted on 03/13/2004 7:09:17 AM PST by phil_will1
Edited on 04/13/2004 1:42:07 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The United States imposes on its businesses and workers one of the highest corporate tax rates in the industrialized world. In addition to this high tax rate, rising health care costs, virtually unlimited liability exposure and the outdated manner in which U.S. businesses are taxed on their worldwide income have combined to put American companies and American workers in a dangerously uncompetitive position.
(Excerpt) Read more at usatoday.com ...
If you would like to be added to this ping list let me know.
John Linder in the House & Saxby Chambliss Senate, offer a comprehensive bill to kill all income and payroll taxes outright, and provide a IRS free replacement in the form of a pure consumption tax:
H.R.25, S.1493
A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national retail sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.
Of course they won't! The current income tax code is their source of power and money for financing their next election. They are, however, OUR employees and WE can hold their collective feet to the fire. The question is: WILL WE?
Removing these costs would make our products about 25% cheaper overseas - how's that for a boost to US production?
Also, the nrst mentioned here would require that imported products pay the 25% or so sales tax- boosting our tax revenues and making domestic goods more price competitive.
Of course, foreign companies are already subsidized by their governments... so the foreign companies will have to both reduce their profitability and increase prices - or some combination of the two that results in acceptable sales revenue.
Both ways, exports and imports, the nrst is a boost for the US economy.
The cost of American goods on the world market includes so many hidden and multiplied taxes that I'd be willing to guess about 50 percent of the price is taxes.
The reason we have so much problem competing with foreign 'labor' is not our productivity, our Unions and such, or the minimum wage: It is because we are exporting our taxes in the price of our goods (i.e., for those who don't understand, a U.S. made widget, when exported, has the cost of many layers of worker SS taxes included in it's cost since they were a part of the cost of labor and production at each level of the process from raw materials to transportation to finished (manufactured) product).
We cannot continue to attempt to use foreign markets to finance our government at home and expect to maintain anything resembling a major export industry. All of our taxes need to be removed from our exported goods and paid here at home.
The 'corporate' tax load goes far beyond what is visible, even identifiable in some cases.
The full impact of the federal tax system(taxes in gross wage/salaries & other compensation + business income/payroll taxes) added onto the base price(without taxes) of retail consumption goods and services is 36% for federal taxes as they are reflected back in consumption prices.
Federal tax revenues collected as % of current family expenditure = fed/(1-state-fed-savings) =
23.5/(1-.235-0.102-0.012) = 36.09%
If we add in the cost of federal tax compliance & enforcement, the percentage that truely represents the burden due to the Federal income payroll tax system increases by nearly 55% of tax free prices.
Where Have All the Dollars Gone?
How the government robs Peter to pay him back.
By James L. Payne, Reason Magazine February '94When the overhead costs are added together, (24 percent compliance costs, 33 percent disincentive costs, and 8 percent other costs), they total 65 percent of tax revenue.
Current total Federal tax revenues are about $1900billion, more than $1,000 billion additional dollars are added on onto consumption prices due to the business costs of complying with the federal income/payroll tax laws.
Percent total federal burden (taxes + compliance costs) of consumption dollars = 36*(1900+1000)/1900 = 54.95% economic burden added on to base retail prices.
And our industries are still shackled by the bloated federal regulatory bureaucracy that the NRST leaves intact.
So foreign production will continue to enjoy a skewed market advantage while the NRST will only serve to shift the entire nation's tax burdern on the shoulders of the consumers who can least afford it.
There is nothing "incremental" about the NRST's simple-minded panacea to radically abolish the current tax code. Such a drastic transition would precipitate economic chaos.
....more "offshoring"...of taxpayer monies....
Where (when) will it end?
Rep. Bill Archer, Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee 106th Congress:
PLEASE sir, pray tell just who YOU think suffers that burden today???
The ONLY thing the NRST really does Willie is to expose to consumers what is currently hidden from them AND collect some taxes from the millions who currently don't pay ANY!
Either he really doesn't understand the simple concept that lowering the price of US goods will mean more US goods being sold - or he is a pretender... i.e. he is benefitting from the current income tax quagmire and so he makes up fake reasons for rejecting fundamental tax reform- in hopes of preventing others from finding out about the national retail sales tax - and ultimately prevent any reform whatsoever.
The nrst does not shift any burden anywhere. 100% of the tax burden is already on the shoulders of consumers. The nrst doesn't shift that burden - it just makes it visible.
In every instance, it is an individual that shoulders the burden of any tax. Tax is always paid by
individual consumers in prices
individual workers via lower wages to cover costs
or individual investors via reduced ROI to cover costs.
It is folly to try to convince any thinking individual that business pays tax.... business just collects the tax in their sales revenues from consumers. If a business cannot afford to increase prices to cover costs, the business will have to either lower wages of individual workers or reduce ROI to individual investors. Never does the business itself pay taxes- only individuals.
I had hoped to have a little PHUNN with him and now you gone and spoiled it spouting FACTS an all!
Dar it! ;>)
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.