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To: pigdog
The FairTax rate is determined with evasion/avoidance being whatever it might be presently (and not factored into the rate)
That's right. The current level of sales tax evasion/avoidance is what is assumed in the FairTax rate.


and so YOU try to convince us that since the rate so determined will cause more evasion in view of the fact that the current marginal income tax rates are typically higher when including withholding than the FairTax rate and that somehow the lower FairTax rate will engender dramatically more evasion?
It has nothing to do with marginal income tax rates. It has everything to do with the sales tax rate people are paying. The FairTax rate was determined with a personal expenditures base that had evasion/avoidance levels due to a ~7% sales tax rate. Without a doubt, there will be more sales tax evasion at ~37% than at ~7%. It's this increase in sales tax evasion/avoidance that the FairTax rate doesn't account for.


Interesting theory (which no doubt Gale at Brookings Institute helped you with)!!
Actually, my dad had more to do with it. He's the one who taught me common sense.
1,095 posted on 06/13/2005 11:14:58 AM PDT by Your Nightmare (::tick:: ::tick:: ::tick::)
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To: Your Nightmare

Oh, but it has everything to do with marginal income tax rates. At present these are so high that many people are tempted to evade (but most, being basically honest, do not ... don't know about you, though).

The "sales tax rate" of 7% you proffer probably isn't accurate but forget that for now. You're adding percentages that are derived from different bases perhaps because you know no better (or, more likely, because you're just being dishonest and trying to fool people).

Present sales taxes in states are all over the map in what they do/don't tax and most are replete with many exclusions/exemptions and things not taxed. Almost none of them tax services as does the FairTax.

In fact, many (if not most) states will probably elect to conform their sales taxes with the FairTax once it becomes law. They would be both reasonable and wise to do so. Doing so will about triple the tax base when one considers that services are typically half or more of the revenue and having no exemptions/deductions will easily boost it to a factor of three times the present base. This would mean that a state with a 7% rate presently would have it drop to 2% or 3% or possibly even less while raising the same tax revenue.

This drops your "37%" t-e (which was bogus to begin with)
by easily 3 or 4 percentage points. Even so, at, say 33% that rate is still much lower than the present marginalincome tax rate so what I said still applies even more:

The lower rate of the FairTax (and of course, you unfairly include state sales taxes with a different base to artificially and dishonestly boost the rate). If you include your "7%"and add it on to the existing marginal income tax rate, the IT rate is much, much higher thereby offering much more of an incentive to evade than there will be under the FairTax.

You might go back and check that with your dad (if not Gale and your Brookings Buds) since it seems he needs to give you another dose of common sense. You have lost a good bit of yours. Been around the libs too long, I'd say.


1,098 posted on 06/13/2005 11:55:24 AM PDT by pigdog
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