My only fear is that they will promise to remove the income tax, but when the get the NRST, the income tax will stay with us.
I grew up in Illinois and remember when they were pushing for the state income tax, they promised the voters that property taxes would be greatly reduced, no raises in sales tax, and toll roads would be gone. Well 40 years later there is a higher sales tax, toll roads cost 50 cents instead of 15, and property taxes are higer than ever.
When the govt gets hold of one tax they are very reticent about giving it up. i.e. the phone tax we still pay for the Spanish-American war.
>When the government gets hold of one tax they are very reticent about giving it up<
AMEN!
>ie. the phone tax we still pay for the Spanish-American war.<
Among a few others.
Two things. One, 23% is a joke. When push comes to shove, it will not be introduced at that rate, and it will not remnain at that rate.
Two, it's very easy to raise the rate, yet have it appear to have a small impact.
Under the NRST for example, a $100 retail item consists of a $77 product plus a $23 tax (Yes, I know that looks like a 30% tax, but the NRST people say it's really 23%. Different argument for a different day. Bear with me here).
Now, let's say the government raises the NRST from 23% to 26% -- a whopping 13% tax increase! Your retail price goes from $100 to $103 to accomodate the tax.
To the consumer, therefore, that 13% tax increase looks only like a 3% increase. Hey, not so bad, huh?