If you make $200,000 and buy only $20,000 in goods, then only 10% of your earnings are taxed. If another guy makes $20,000 and spends $20,000, 100% of his earnings are taxed.
Please oh please tell me how that is NOT regressive.
You spend less, you pay less taxes.
Wonderful way to run the economy into the ground, friend. Give consumers disincentives to make purchases. Which Einstein thought that economic plan up, hm?
And let's not forget the loopholes in which select groups form co-ops and skirt their share of the tax entirely?
Sorry...I ain't buying it. A flat tax on income is the only way to go.
Quote: "Wonderful way to run the economy into the ground, friend. Give consumers disincentives to make purchases. Which Einstein thought that economic plan up, hm?"
Oh calm down.
The level of taxation in a VAT or national sales tax is not so great that anyone will for-go buying that new car or skip their double Mocha at lunch. They will have more to spend because they have less (as in zero) taken out of their pay check.
Those states with sales tax have NOT seen a drop in spending.
Like I say... Calm down, its way more efficient to tax 4 million businesses than it is to tax 300 million people. The tax rate could be way smaller.
If most foodstuffs and basic clothing is exempted from tax, much like most state sales tax systems then that this is not an issue. Most lower income families spend the bulk of their income on housing food and clothing. There is no reason for a national sales tax to be considered regressive.
"Wonderful way to run the economy into the ground, friend. Give consumers disincentives to make purchases. Which Einstein thought that economic plan up, hm? "
That would be a good point if nearly every state in the union didn't have some sort of sales tax already...
NST is better because it is more transparent. You see how much you are being taxed on every transaction. The tax system needs more transparency.
And the country could use more regressive taxes. It would finally inspire people who have been freeloading on taxes for years to take a look at what's being taken from them and say "wait a minute - why are my taxes so high?"
Right now real taxation is hidden from the majority of people. They don't care about gross pay, they care about net. They cheer on 'corporate taxes' as a way to stick it to the big, evil corporations who just pass the taxes on to consumers.
Transparency is the key to not only fairness, but reducing wasteful spending via public pressure.
yeah I was for that HOWEVER, did you see how terezas army of CPA's were able to determain that she had to pay less tax on her billions than most lower middle income tax rates?\
You keep all the beurocracy in place if you keep the flat tax. National sales tax has the infrastructure already in place with state sales tax, (except in smaller states that will have to impliment it ie oregon)
The effects would be immediate, you would see like a 40% increase in your pay check. Yes prices would rise because of the tax but the people would recognize the fact that it is thier decision how much they are taxed.
I would incourage you to look at the cato institute work on the subject.
Your argument is rather poor.