[Principled]

Twenty-two percent of everything sold in the U.S. plus exports would mean the "hidden fed tax costs" would be $2.31 trillion!

Sold at RETAIL. not just anything sold.

[Your Nightmare]

How do products sold at retail have a higher "hidden fed tax costs" than products not?

[Your Nightmare]

Sold at RETAIL. not just anything sold.

The study you are misquoting state a 22% reduction in producer prices, not retail prices.

[Your Nightmare]

Sold at RETAIL. not just anything sold.

I checked my numbers and they are products sold at retail. They are the NIPA PCE numbers + exports. So my point is still valid.

Twenty-two percent of everything sold in the U.S. plus exports would mean the "hidden fed tax costs" would be $2.31 trillion! The total taxes paid by businesses in 2003 was $488.25 billion, and most of that was payroll taxes which virtually every economist agrees is really paid by labor through lower wages. That leaves a minimum of $1.8 trillion for business tax compliance costs! Most reasonable economists put the number around $100 billion. Let's double that to $200 billion to be fair, that leaves $1.6 trillion.

The numbers don't add up.