Posted on 09/21/2005 5:12:24 AM PDT by OESY
If we had our druthers, all of America would be an "opportunity zone," with low and flat-rate taxes and little of the regulation that can strangle economic development. But the battered Gulf Coast is a good place to start with these investment-friendly reconstruction incentives, and so Congress could (and probably will) do much worse than enact President Bush's Gulf Opportunity Zone.
The idea is to lure businesses back to the region through lower tax rates, incentives for new capital investment, and low-cost business loans and loan guarantees. So far the details are sketchy. But one promising magnet for capital is the small-business expensing plan, which allows firms to immediately deduct from their federal tax bill the first $100,000 of the cost of a new office, plant or equipment. We're typically against temporary tax incentives, but if anything warrants such a lift, the aftermath of Katrina does -- and especially as an alternative to the "Marshall Plan" for new federal spending via FEMA or a bureaucratic cousin that is already being proposed in Washington.
We only wish the tax incentives went further than what Mr. Bush has proposed. Why not allow the Gulf to operate as a laboratory for a flat tax, with an 18% rate and no taxes whatsoever on capital investment for businesses -- small and large? And if this works for New Orleans, as it has for so many of the former economically ravaged nations of East Europe, then make it the law of the land.
The Bush plan also provides an "urban homesteading" feature, whereby low-income families would be given a free plot of federal land in the ruined areas in exchange for a commitment to build a home there. It's a truism that people better maintain homes that are their own property....
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Sounds like a winner to me!
He must be talking about a flat 18% tariff on imported goods? That would make America an "opportunity zone."
This is an EXCELLENT idea. Just excellent.
When you add state, county (or is that Parish?), local, sales,
gas, etc, etc it's probably a whole lot higher.
ping list
It would certainly be a step in the right direction!
Make it a flat 20% revenue tariff and you could completely eliminate the corporate income tax altogether!
A Proposal to Abolish the Corporate Income Tax
He must be talking about a flat 18% tariff on imported goods? That would make America an "opportunity zone."
He's talkng about the flat 18% corpoate profits tax applied to business income leaving individual income and SS/Medicare taxes in place.
Better, would be to set a flat 15% tax rate on all retail sales, get rid of both individual and corporate income taxes.
Or better yet, IMO, a 23% retails sales tax and get rid of all federal individual and corporate income and SS/Medicare taxes altogether.
If you would like to be added to this ping list let me know.
John Linder in the House(HR25) & Saxby Chambliss Senate(S25) offer a comprehensive bill to kill all income and SS/Medicare payroll taxes outright and replace them with with a national retail sales tax administered by the states.
H.R.25,S.25
A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national retail sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.Refer for additional information:
Bad idea. The NRST would cause such a rush of people and businesses from all over the world that the whole area would sink into the sea.
Just give em some inner tubes & rafts.
They could start aqua businesses, fish. shrimp, and crawfish farms.
The WSJ has had some good ideas on this. A free enterprise centered rebuild could have some remarkable results. It would be faster and encourage innovation. I would suggest, however, that the region adopt stronger structural building codes that extend across county lines.
Forbes has a similar idea in this month's magazine, but I can't find it to post. Help anybody?
Here's a bold experiment which is PRO-CHOICE at its core.
How about giving people a choice for the next 3 years -- FILE YOUR TAXES THE FLAT TAX WAY or FILE IT USING THE TRADITIONAL WAY.
After 3 years, lets see how many percent of tax payers go the flat tax way and how many go the traditional way.
I'll bet the traditional way whithers in the vine.
This was we could get rid of the entire $11 billion IRS budget right off the bat and boost the economy much more rapidly from there.
It's called the FairTax!!!
I'm afraid I don't have that article for you...ask on different threads and someone will find it.
Thanks Peach.
How about giving people a choice for the next 3 years -- FILE YOUR TAXES THE FLAT TAX WAY or FILE IT USING THE TRADITIONAL WAY.
They already have that on the books. It's called the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT.)
Haven't heard of too many who are particularly jumping for joy over it.
How about a 23% retail sales tax (HR-25/fairtax, to replace the IRS) with a moratorium on said tax on those states and area that have been devastated by the hurricanes…
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