[Hostage]

I’ve studied the issue and the embedded federal taxes are lower than the Fair Tax rate which means I will be paying more taxes on purchases made with my already taxed savings...

You need to describe what you have 'studied'. The results have not yet been published and preliminary reports indicate the NRST is substantially lower on certain product categories. But the results are not yet public.

This is why I respond the way I do, lots of detractors saying stuff without backup, i.e. blowing hot air into what should be a frank discussion.

How you can say what you said without having the data, without having done the analysis, without knowing the results is a sign of someone that adds nothing to the discussion and aims to detract.

[Filo]

You need to describe what you have 'studied'.

I already have. You obviously missed it so let's recap:

For the purposes of our discussion let's say that the components of the Fair Tax (F) charged for a given product are the "hidden taxes" (H) and the open taxes (O) that are paid on said product. Both are positive numbers.

So, F = H+O

Yes we are simplifying, but bear with me.

Now, when I buy said product with money earned after the implementation of the Fair Tax I am paying all of my taxes through the Fair Tax. Nothing has been withheld from my paycheck and everything is fair and equitable and right with the world.

However, when I buy said product with money earned before the implementation of the fair tax I have already paid taxes (T) on that money.

So, when I buy the aforementioned product, I am actually paying F + T in taxes.

Now Fair Tax proponents are arguing that there is some component of F that I'd be paying even without the implementation of the Fair Tax. They typically argue that this is the H component. "You're always paying those 'hidden taxes' you just don't know it.”

Assuming I'm willing to agree to that I'm still left paying the O component of the Fair Tax in addition to the taxes that were already taken from my pre-Fair Tax earnings. That O component was, presumably, roughly equal to the previously taken taxes with the assumption that the hidden taxes (H) are unchanged between systems (I.e. the H component being added in to the Fair Tax is an accurate representation of the hidden taxes paid prior to Fair Tax implementation.

Unless you are willing to argue that the O component of the Fair Tax is somehow a negative number (and you'd be crazy to try that little trick) then it is impossible to deny that I am being re-taxed on my pre-Fair Tax earnings, if only in part.

I do not need to know the values for T, O or H to make that determination. I come to my conclusion using simple logic, not complex math. There is no "hot air" to this detraction. It is nothing but a "frank discussion."

[lewislynn]

The results have not yet been published and preliminary reports indicate the NRST is substantially lower on certain product categories. But the results are not yet public.

This is why I respond the way I do, lots of detractors saying stuff without backup, i.e. blowing hot air into what should be a frank discussion.

How you can say what you said without having the data, without having done the analysis, without knowing the results is a sign of someone that adds nothing to the discussion and aims to detract.

Hypocrite.