[Always Right]

I say the sales tax rate is 30%... it will add 30% onto the shelf price. Of course, with no income/payroll tax system, prices will drop by that much before the sales tax is added... making prices stay about the same.

But the nutty professor is saying prices will drop 20-30%.

[Principled]

THat's right - pretax prices will dro 20-30 (inclusive) the first year

Do you know how to translate from inclusive to exclusive? Did you know there was a difference?

[phil_will1]

"But the nutty professor is saying prices will drop 20-30%."

Which is quite a bit different than the 30 - 40% that you are using. Mind telling us where that range came from?

BTW, the "nutty professor" is the former chairman of Harvard University's economics department. Would you mind sharing YOUR professional qualifications in the field of economics so that the thread viewers can make up their own minds relative to credibility?