That is exactly right. People don’t realize the amount of invisible tax they pay in increased costs.
Have a blast, go down to your local restaurant, ask the owner/operator of the sole family location how much he's increased prices to cover the hidden cost of taxes.
Now, once you're done getting past the 'huh?' 'whuh?' and 'eh?' it might just be entertaining to look at say.. Staples. $4.7 billion in sales. Talk about a horribly strong company, it's increased profits by 11 percent to $179 million dollars... Wait, wait.. That must prove your point, look at those numbers, most of it must be in hidden taxes! If only that were the case. Employee overhead for Staples is eight percent. Even if every penny of employee compensation was forced into a box that would subject it all to SSI, you're talking 14% of 8% of $4.7 billion. That's 1.2% of their sales. Even if every penny of the reported profit was subject to the highest tax rates, you're still talking about a total tax bill of under 2%.
And this is wanted to be replaced with a complicated (and as anything government, fraud rich) prebate system, and a false implication 23% inclusive tax which is really a thirty percent retail tax rate.
So please, let's stop this incessant argument about 'hidden taxes' that will suddenly disappear and make all the prices go back to the way they are now. Start talking straight - this will make the prices of imported goods go up through the roof, and make it attractive for businesses to return to the United States. It will encourage savings as you don't get penalized for earning money, only spending it. It'll revitalize the used product industry, and repair industry, since labor and used items will not be subject to this tax. Flipping new homes will become a thing of the past as there's a thirty percent requirement of equity just to break even off the taxes.
It's a revolutionary concept, and one that actually could work in the United States with some moderate modifications. Oh, and forget this nonsense of it being an 30% tax. If this passes, pretty much could guarantee that every state would switch to the same process from sheer inertia, bringing the counter price on a dollar item to a buck fifty.
Small price to pay to get your full paycheck, true. Plus your home just became a heck of a lot more attractive to buy than putting a new one on that hillside over there, and renters are in for a thrilling surprise when they find leases subject to taxes.
When you get down to it, the miser will find reason to value that old TV, get the computer fixed, not move out of the family home. That growth explosion in many parts of the country will screech to a halt, and you're probably going to want to keep that old car for at least another two years, even though it's value just went up. And for many, this is a desired result. But these are the type of behaviors that need to be honestly discussed, not buried behind the curtain of 'reduced prices by eliminating invisible taxes.'