Oh great. We can all live the life of a North Korean peasant. What a bequest for my children and grandchildren that will be.
"I take my wife and child out in a wheelbarrow, but at least I don't have to pay tax!"
Hi Gabz.
I see that you have already been responded to by more than a few posters but I would like to add a few comments too.
As kevkrom said, the FCA or prebate, refunds in advance the amount of tax that a household at the poverty level would pay in sales tax if they spend their entire income on taxable goods essentially making them tax free. This eliminates the REgressiveness of the typical sales tax and makes it very PROgressive.
There are no confusing 'this_is_taxed_this_isn't' rules. If it is new, it's taxed. If it's used, it isn't. No exceptions.
As Judith Anne pointed out, when the costs of imbedded taxes are removed, prices will fall driven both by competition and customer demand. There won't be much difference between the prices now and the prices after the change. What will change is that you will get your whole check without the federal government taking it's cut first. You will get a check to cover your tax expenditures up to the poverty level.
As your income now becomes your own, you will decide when and if you will pay tax at all. Buy used goods, grow vegetables in your garden, make your own clothes -- you pay no tax. But if you want to be free from doing it yourself, buy new and pay the tax -- you'll have more money in your pocket to do it.
But, this change will cause the economy to boom and you now have all of your money. You won't have a bigger chunk taken when you work overtime. There will be overtime and new jobs aplenty as people enjoy the extra cash in their paychecks. It'll be your money, not the Feds.
Education is tax free and the cost of education will come down meaning that if your kids are now trapped in a failed inner school, a little extra work on your part means that you can now send your child to a private school that is now out of reach.
Gabz, the benefits of this idea are practically boundless. What I like most is getting rid of the IRS. There will no longer be withholding of taxes, no tax filing, no audits of individuals. It's a major step in moving back to being free of government intervention in our lives and the growing trend toward more government that will burden our children and our children's children.
Can you think of a better gift for them than ridding them of the IRS?
Badray, I think I love you. In a platonic sense, of course. ;-D
Oh great. We can all live the life of a North Korean peasant. What a bequest for my children and grandchildren that will be.
"I take my wife and child out in a wheelbarrow, but at least I don't have to pay tax!"
Thank you for the further comments, Badray...they are appreciated.
I've had a marvelous education on this thread and I'm starting to love the concept more and more, whereas I think I was leaning more towards the concept of a flat tax, ala the Steve Forbes concept.
Since I tend to buy used items, grow a lot of my own food, and even do a bit of sewing and other needlework, I can see this as being a big boost in our disposable income, thus permitting us to spend more, thus contributing to the economy probably even more than we currently do.
And the elimination of the IRS is the icing on the cake!!!!