Posted on 02/16/2005 5:32:49 PM PST by socialismisinsidious
WASHINGTON — President Bush's tax reform panel listened Wednesday to the pros and cons of taxing money earned or money spent, leading one member to say that a hybrid should be considered.
"It has merit," said John Breaux, a former senator from Louisiana and the panel's Democratic vice chairman.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
He waited for his second term for THIS?!
Nnnnnnnnooooooooo!
I won't claim to know whether a flat-rate income tax or a consumption tax is better, but I do know that having both at once wold be incredibly stupid.
If we go to a federal consumption tax, the same amendment which authorizes it has to repeal the 16th.
That's all I need to know.
Great. I've been taxed for the last 28 years on comparatively high income. In seven years I will change from high income to low income/comparatively high consumption, jsut in time for this change.
A "hybrid" eh? Like taking a Jekyll and making a Hyde?
Muleteam1
The 16th Amendment should be repealed first, before they go through with any of this.
They ough to talk about exempting all money "invested" in stocks, bonds or property.
And this idea will more equitably shift the tax burden off the least that can pay to those who can. /S
I thought the function of this committee was to explore many ideas and ways to change the tax code. Some of you are acting as if they are ready to make their recommendation when they have only started to meet today. I guess it might be better if they kept their meetings secret so as not to get people riled up every time an alternative is is put up for discussion.
You didn't really think they would shut down the income tax machine, did you? No way, but they'd be happy to experiment with another revenue stream for a while. If a national sales tax works, they'll keep it, but somehow they'll never get around to killing any system of taxation.
Pessimist? Yeah, it comes from my monthly donation to finance the Spanish-American war...
A 1% national sales tax would do wonders to the revenue stream. It would be fair to everyone. Low income people consume less, so they pay less. Heck, most low income people pay no tax at all. Some even get more back more than they had withheld!
The Problems I am having with taxation is that government has to quit expanding faster than the Gross Gational Product. Spending and program expansion has to stop!! A cut has to mean making do with less than last time. The current version of a program CUT is, instead of giving the department a 5% increase in operating budget, they cut the increase to 2.5%. Nothing has been cut. It still means the department gets a 2.5% increase in money. Yet we hear the liberal whining that THAT THE CUTS ARE HURTING PEOPLE EVERYWHERE! What would people do if they really had programs discontinued? it would surely be death!
MAKE A CUT A CUT! Runaway spending is not the way a prudent manager becomes successful. And customers (taxpayers) will not continue to support a business (or government) that continually raises prices and delivers a faulty product. Who are these so called economists that are running our country??????? Their name should be MUD!
The big problem with the tax on sales is it will supplement income tax not replace it.
Having both taxes lets them tinker with the rates of both taxes to satisfy their financial appetites!
I started a professional career and making money just in time for Reagan to kill most of the tax deductions that could have applied to my family back then. About the same time, the war on "double-dipping" also started and that seriously affected my family in regard to SS. I am sure you and I are not the only Americans who feel like we keep arriving a "day late and a dollar short". This is why I predict any significant changes in the tax code or SS will be extremely difficult for the President to accomplish. However, I would be for any tax system which gave even a single American generation a break from taxes even if that generation was not mine.
Muleteam1
A closer description of the actual meeting actually came from LA Times this time around. Will wonders ever cease?
refer: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1344816/posts
Here is The Advisory Panel first meeting press release from the website you can find the power point presentations a& PDF transcripts of panel members and other participants
| http://www.taxreformpanel.gov/ President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform February 16, 2005 FACT SHEET OVERVIEW: The President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform held its first meeting in Washington, DC, today. President Bush established the Panel to make recommendations on ways to create a simpler, fairer, and more pro-growth tax system. The panel is led by former Senators Connie Mack and John Breaux, and consists of a distinguished group of experts and experienced people from both parties. America has a growing, dynamic, and changing economy - but our tax code has not kept up with the times. The current tax code is a maze of special interest loopholes and complex provisions that cause America's taxpayers to spend more than six billion hours every year on paperwork and other headaches. President Bush believes that America's taxpayers deserve better. The tax panel is part of President Bush’s pledge to lead a bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the tax code. The time that people spend complying with an overly complex tax code is a waste of resources that has been growing over time.
President Bush's Action to Promote Tax Reform
Background: The President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform The panel will hold public meetings and seek input from individuals, businesses, and associations and organizations. It will also seek input from Members of Congress. At today’s first meeting, the panel heard from Treasury Secretary John Snow and from other witnesses. The witnsees described the history of the federal income tax and described the differences between income and consumption taxes. The panel will hold a series of public meetings during the next few months. The next meeting will take place on March 3, 2005 in Washington DC. The Panel will examine the existing system and then formulate options for reform, which will be presented to the Secretary of the Treasury by July 31, 2005. This advice will inform the Secretary in his efforts to make recommendations to the President. |
Exactly. I think that's exactly what they're after -- how to keep feeding the tax beast when the big bloc of baby-boomers move out of the high-income years.
"Runaway spending is not the way a prudent manager becomes successful"
No, but that's how they become president.
HELL NO, Mr. Bush! If you plan to enact a consumption tax you MUST, MUST, MUST repeal the 16th ammendment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.