Posted on 08/26/2004 11:05:33 PM PDT by n-tres-ted
Or are there a bunch of tax lawyers and CPA's on these NRST threads?
You left out Tax Protesters that think they have created a haven for themselves from the current tax laws and suspect their cash economy livings might actually have to compete on a level field with legitimate business when income/payroll taxes are repealed.
Heck they might even have to pay some tax once in a while for the goodies they want from the mainstream.
I know you cannot feed 3 people on $45 week, but remember that your grocery bill at the local supermarket is much more than just groceries.
All the cleaning supplies, TP, paper towels, air fresheners, OTC medical supplies, flashlight batteries, school supplies, greeting cards, stamps for mailing, lottery tichets, are all included inside that "grocery" bill. Take a serious look at what life style you have created by being able to purchase a wide array of items at the "grocery" store and then get a real shock about what the food really amounts to. Candy and soda and chocolate ice cream do no count as basic food, either for this plan. I know they count in my house and in many houses, but not in this plan!
Because it would open the door to government determination of preferences for "necessities." Once the door is open, we would soon be debating whether "yachts" should be exempt.
No, the rebate is intended to keep it simple. Everyone gets the rebate, so no one has to prove a poverty level of income to get it. Sending out rebates at the beginning of each month is a job, but much less complicated than the present system.
The states sales taxes are able to understand the difference.
Wouldn't the foriegn produced goods be forced to lower their prices accordingly? Beleive me, the foriegn producers are not selling for the lowest possible cost today, they are selling just cheap enough to undercut their competitors prices. If their competitor lowers prices, they will be forced to do the same or sacrifice their competitive advantage.Maybe. The dynamics of prices is way too complex for anyone to predict, especially with such a dramatic changes as going from an income tax to a NRST. Be wary of anyone who states guesstimations as fact. They are just doing a sales job.
We CURRENTLY have a Communist inspired SLAVE tax, which requires the modern equalivalent of the Spanish inquisition for enforcement, and under which the government has a APRIORI claim to whatever percentage of the fruit of your labor as they can get away with at the moment vs a tax system, the NRST, under which everyone gets 100% of what they earn, requires no effort what so ever on the part of individuals to comply with, and in which the government need not even know so much as anyone's name to enforce.
Which of those which promotes F R E E D O M ? ? ?
Easy choice for HONEST folks IMHO!
I'll never understand the opposition to this idea on FR. Like I said, the idea of eliminating audits should, by itself, be good enough, even if everything else stays (financially) the same.
No, the rebate is intended to keep it simple. Everyone gets the rebate, so no one has to prove a poverty level of income to get it. Sending out rebates at the beginning of each month is a job, but much less complicated than the present system.It's not a rebate, it's a demogrant.
I assume you must have plenty of guarantees in hand for your returns under the present system. Right? Yes, I'm an optimist. But at least the Fair Tax Act (HR 25) gives us plenty of room for optimism. And the economists whose analyses support it are entitled to some weight of consideration.
"Also, what about Tax avoidance? I bet the black market shoots up, specially near Border areas where you can slip over the border and buy Canadian or Mexican."
Sure, let's talk about that. Let's be sure to remember that under the present tax system, pornography, recreational drugs and illegal labor fly almost totally below this system's radar. According to one economist, those three sectors comprise $1 trillion/year of our total economy. When the pornographers, drug dealers and illgal workers spend thier income, they will pay the NRST just like the rest of us.
Do you honestly believe that the border problem that you are so concerned about is anywhere near $1 trillion potentially?
I'll never understand the opposition to this idea on FR. Like I said, the idea of eliminating audits should, by itself, be good enough, even if everything else stays (financially) the same.You mean individual audits. Businesses would still be audited, maybe even more.
That may be true, I'm not an expert on this proposed legislation. I don't see how it could be possible though, since the very institution that does audits (the IRS) would be shut down.
What other expectation do you have from capitol investments or expanding research? Both are drivers of productivity and job expansion. By your own statement you claim the "evil" corporations will take these actions, yet you fail to realize the job growth associated with these actions.
"Unfortunate that the author did not allow for the effects of greed by the large corporations."
Ah, now the true jealousy of your statements has been made clear. Class warfare is the single most affective tool at maintaining the current system of socialistic tax schemes.
Now a business will have 50 tax collection agency to deal with. The states will take over the IRS's job. 50 little IRSes, each with their own rules, regulation, procedures, etc... and business will have to file once a month to each of the states they do business in instead of once a year (or quarter) to one agency. So much for simplicity.
Just out of curiousity, where does this "50 tax collection agencies" number come from? Like I said, I'm not an expert on the proposed legislation. From what I've heard it sounds good though.
What other expectation do you have from capitol investments or expanding research?Our current system reduces the risk (and return at the same time) of investments and R&D by allowing businesses to write off investment losses and R&D costs. Without these write offs, bad investments will go straight to the profit/loss of the company. And any R&D that doesn't pan out will be a total loss for the company. How this would affect a company's decisions is anybody's guess, but it wouldn't be far fetched to think that due the greater risk, investment and R&D would decrease.
Just out of curiousity, where does this "50 tax collection agencies" number come from? Like I said, I'm not an expert on the proposed legislation. From what I've heard it sounds good though.The states will be collecting the federal sales tax.
The truth is that 45 of the 50 states ALREADY have sales tax enforcement agencies in place which by - the - way, are invisible to 99.44% of the population.
"I simply can't envision retail prices dropping on the order of 20% across the board due to nothing other than manufacturer or producer benevolence."
Neither can I. However, I do understand how a free market economy operates and I see price competition all around me every day. It's very obvious.
This idea that the price drops are due to the generosity or benevolence of producers and retailers is one of the most common objections to the FairTax. In fact, as economic theory holds, maximizing price is NOT synonymous with maximizing profit because of the elasticity of demand. Businesses are in business to maximize profits, not prices. There are many, many, many examples of that principle all around us.
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