We all know that while Nellie may 'talk the talk'; he 'walks the walk' and votes with kennedy, kerry & klinton.
Posted on 08/15/2006 4:01:51 AM PDT by JulieRNR21
ORLANDO, Fla. -- It's hard to find anybody who thinks taxes are fair, but the idea of a fair tax has been a hot topic this political season.
When thousands of people crowded around Orlando City Hall in July, they made it clear that they think the IRS and income taxes must go.
They support the fair tax -- a bill in the U.S. Congress that would replace the income tax system with a national sales tax, WESH 2 News reported.
That means everything you buy would include 23 percent federal tax, in addition to any county or state sales taxes. Taxes paid on most foods, prescription drugs and other necessities would be reimbursed in a monthly check.
Under a government formula, a family of four would receive an allowance or "prebate" of $6,072 per year or $506 per month.
Supporters say taxing what you spend, not what you earn, gives consumers a choice.
"Those who have upper incomes whenever they buy something, they're paying into our tax system. Criminals are paying into it when they buy something. People who come visit, everybody is paying into it. I think it's a great idea," said fair tax supporter Susan Bach.
But fair tax critics, including the president's own bipartisan panel on tax reform, say their studies show middle-income Americans will pay 7 percent more in overall taxes, while those earning at least $200,000 a year will pay 7 percent less.
And the fair tax would not eliminate taxes on gasoline and fees on airline tickets, and sports and entertainment not currently taxed would be forced to add 23 percent to ticket prices.
There's another reason why the fair tax might not seem so fair to some people -- corporate taxes would be abolished. That means consumers, not businesses, would pay 100 percent of the taxes to keep the nation afloat.
The fair tax is the subject of a best-selling book, and a real talker from the boardrooms to the mailrooms of America.
Here's what the four Republican candidates for U.S. Senate think about it.
"I endorse the fair tax," said candidate Will McBride. "I was at the rally, and I believe that the fair tax evenly distributes the tax burden across the United States, across all Americans, across tourists. It also requires, it would also involve the illegal aliens would be paying a tax. The underground would be paying a tax. Everyone will be contributing to society."
"I think that the system that we have has been modified so many times, I think that it's basically broken," said candidate LeRoy Collins. "I like the idea of the fair tax. I think like everything else, it deserves some very close analysis to ensure that it will do the job that it claims it will do. The most important of which is being revenue neutral."
"I'm pro the idea of a fair tax because I think it has great advantages, such as the fact that it will discourage spending and encourage savings," said candidate Peter Monroe. "The devil is in the details. In order to keep the tax revenue neutral, they are doing what are called prebates. That's going to create a $600- to $800-billion program that is going to be very difficult to administer and very complex. Much more so than people really believe."
"I advocate tax reform everywhere I go and I talk about the fair tax. What's going to be important for your viewers is that they understand it because the liberals who demagogue and say, 'You don't get your mortgage interest deductions or deductions for charities for other things,'" said U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris. "But the fact is, you're going to be keeping so much more of your money. You'll have far more to donate. You'll have far more to do anything you wish. It will be a tax not on your entire earnings. There will be nothing taxed on your earnings. It'll just be a tax on what you spend."
So, all four GOP Senate candidates favor the fair tax. Harris, a congresswoman, and Monroe, the former chief operating officer of the Federal Housing Administration, appear to have the strongest understanding of the complex plan.
Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who hopes to fight off a challenge from whomever wins the GOP primary on Sept. 5, is so far not committed to supporting the fair tax, even though he favors some type of tax reform.
To comment on this story, send an e-mail to Greg Fox.
So, all four GOP Senate candidates favor the fair tax. Harris, a congresswoman, and Monroe, the former chief operating officer of the Federal Housing Administration, appear to have the strongest understanding of the complex plan.
Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who hopes to fight off a challenge from whomever wins the GOP primary on Sept. 5, is so far not committed to supporting the fair tax, even though he favors some type of tax reform.
So, all four GOP Senate candidates favor the fair tax. Harris, a congresswoman, and Monroe, the former chief operating officer of the Federal Housing Administration, appear to have the strongest understanding of the complex plan.
Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who hopes to fight off a challenge from whomever wins the GOP primary on Sept. 5, is so far not committed to supporting the fair tax, even though he favors some type of tax reform.
"We control the common good for necessary expenditures on goods."
So how does this writer figure that Harris and Monroe have the greatest understanding of this 'complex' plan? It's not complex at all, and in fact Monroe seems to be making it more difficult than it is.
Harris is right, those deductions won't apply, since you're not being taxed on those activities in the first place.
"There's another reason why the fair tax might not seem so fair to some people -- corporate taxes would be abolished. That means consumers, not businesses, would pay 100 percent of the taxes to keep the nation afloat"
Whoever wrote this piece misses the fact that businesses do not pay taxes. Corporate taxes are part of the cost of doing business, which is passed on to consumers. Consumers already pay corporate taxes.
To comment on this story, send an e-mail to Greg Fox.
gfox@hearst.com
Since when does a tax exemption (the prebate) become Marxist Socialism? Please step away from the acid...
I agree....And Monore's statement actually sounds rather negative.
While Harris focuses on the plus side:
"I advocate tax reform everywhere I go and I talk about the fair tax. What's going to be important for your viewers is that they understand it because the liberals who demagogue and say, 'You don't get your mortgage interest deductions or deductions for charities for other things,'" said U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris.
"But the fact is, you're going to be keeping so much more of your money. You'll have far more to donate. You'll have far more to do anything you wish. It will be a tax not on your entire earnings. There will be nothing taxed on your earnings. It'll just be a tax on what you spend."
Jeez, are you telling me I have to vote for Nellie???
Typical Nelson..., feet dancing lightly..., waiting to determine which way the wind will blow (the story of his life)!!!
We all know that while Nellie may 'talk the talk'; he 'walks the walk' and votes with kennedy, kerry & klinton.
Tracking and verifying 300 million people so that they can send out 100 million prebate checks every month and trying to fight fraud and keep addresses current is not a simple job. Monroe is exactly right, it is much more complex than fairtaxers let on.
Typical Nelson..., feet dancing lightly..., waiting to determine which way the wind will blow (the story of his life)!!!
Has been since his days at Melbourne High School almost 50 years ago (Nelson graduated in 1960)...
We're already doing it. It's no big deal, especially if we use a debit card system.
The government is already redistributing $600 billion and sending out 100 million checks monthly to every household?????
It may not be simple but think about it this way - if you want your prebate check you will need to prove you are a legal citizen. All the illegals will be exposed or they will just not get their prebate.
Sounds good to me.
Bill Nelson is a smarmy worm. He will coast to reelection this November, and should the fair tax come up for a vote in the next Congress, he will vote against it.
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