Posted on 11/04/2005 2:16:18 AM PST by RWR8189
In case you were wondering what that giant "whoosh" emanating from Washington was, it was the sound of the people on the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform swinging and missing at the easy underhand toss that George W. Bush sent their way. The commission was announced during the president's 2005 State of the Union address; its instructions were to overhaul a federal tax structure described in the speech as "archaic" and "incoherent." But rather than taking the president's broad mandate for fundamental, comprehensive reform, the panel recommended preserving the basic elements of the "archaic, incoherent" monstrosity already on the books.
Among the panel's recommendations, released this week, are reduction of tax brackets from six to four, elimination of the marriage tax penalty, and a general restructuring of personal savings mechanisms such as IRAs and health savings accounts.
Don't get me wrong -- these recommendations constitute good policy. They're good ideas, and I would support them on the floor of the House. But they're too small, and at bottom they only simplify and slightly improve a broken system. This panel -- its deliberations and report -- provided an unprecedented opportunity to publicize and advocate the cause of fundamental tax reform of the sort that could expand our economy, meet our growing fiscal needs and provide a simplified, streamlined tax system for every American.
This was a chance to scrap the Internal Revenue Code -- the 5-million-word monstrosity that costs American businesses and families billions of dollars and billions of hours to comply with -- once and for all. The president gave the panel a golden opportunity to bring about vital, comprehensive reforms. Instead, it proposed an array of incremental policy tweaks of the kind that one might expect to be presented in the president's annual budget.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
This government is an ugly never-ending evil joke.
The people are speaking, no they are yelling - HR 25 the Fair tax bill - www.Fairtax.org - this is the only change we will accept or should accept - the messge is if you don't support it be prepared to go home from Washington on the next election.
The hammer has spoken. Rep. DeLay has been one of the President's closest supporter and he's a reliable conservative.
Expect a p!$$3d of President to come out and yell at the bozos to take a mulligan.
Well, I had something to say. I just had to figure out what it was.
Okay, you already know this but I thought I'd weigh in. The notion, or mind-spun fabrication about people taking home 100% of their pay cannot be done and also have prices drop 22%, supposedly that being fraud is a mind-spun fabrication. As you know, it's a lack of clarity ny the authors.
To be fraud, it must include the intent to deceive. For example, if a first grade teacher asked a student what day of the week today is and the student replies "Thursday", when in fact it is Friday", the teacher would not say the student lied or intended to deceive, rather, that the student was mistaken.
Two scenarios.
1, After the FairTax has been implemented employees take home pay is the same as it was under the income tax. Retail prices decrease 22%. The 23% FairTax brings the price back up to100%. It's a wash. Then monetary benefits accrue when a person or family receives a monthly prebate check, when they buy used goods and capital gains are not taxed.
2) After the FairTax has been implemented employees take home 100% of their paycheck. Retail prices are reduced equal to the amount that employers pay income tax, matching FICA, and paper-shuffling income-tax compliance cost. Prices reduced about 7% to 9 %. For a person paying 15% in federal tax and FICA, that take-home pay increase combined with 8% retail-price reduction brings the the price back up to100%. It's a wash. Then monetary benefits accrue when a person or family receives a monthly prebate check, when they buy used goods, and capital gains are not taxed. The taxed dollars they save under the income tax no longer has taxes removed prior to being saved. Thus they have more money to save.
Between the two the market for labor will set wage levels which will effect prices. It seems to me that producers with union employees will reduce their prices less than producers that have non-union employees.
I imagine I would pay about the same amount of tax under the Fair Tax plan unless I choose to change the way I spend my money, but I would at least save $300 on income tax preparation cost.
Sort of puts you in mind of Hariet Miers . . .
The Hammer speaks PING!
If anyone would like to be added to this ping list let me know.
I would say the House leadership does not appear to be overjoyed with the timidity of the Presidents Tax Refrom Panel.
OTOH, 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:
Time for Americans to get of the pot and let Congress know precisely where they stand. If real tax reform is to happen it can only come from the insistance of the American people, not Washington bureaucrats.
no matter who you vote for, the gubmint always wins
There is VERY LITTLE TRUTH coming from ANY government official........... that is a fact. Those who are in government are there for a reason...... they are easily controlled.
Lies about Waco, lies about Flight 800, lies about OKC, lies about Gorelick's Wall, lies about Able Danger, and on and on and on. There are no heroes in government any longer. And when one steps up to do the right thing ........... he (Weldon for example) is quickly squashed and shut down.
This country is decayed and dying........... and to think that the cause of that decay is conscious and planned........ that is the real sick part of it. McCarthy was right!
It's time for some kind of a revolution and a lot of public hangings (after the proper trials, of course).
What I want for myself is to get government out of my financial affairs. My desires aside, I want the job and economic growth that will come with the FairTax. It will lead to reigning in government spending. It will encourage economic freedom in other countries.
F R E E D O M ! ! !
Yep. Economic freedom is the route to freedom.
It seems that there are a great many these days who fall into the category Goeth speaks of. I am NOT one of them!
It amazes me that more people aren't sick of the yoke on their shoulders and a noose around their necks. Maybe they have accommodated and don't even realize it is there anymore?
Not a new problem by any measure.
"The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
---John Philpot Curran(1808)
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.