Posted on 08/28/2007 4:39:18 PM PDT by Bigun
The People Must Demand The Fair Tax
By Doug Patton
August 28, 2007
Last year, during the United States Senate race in Nebraska, Republican challenger Pete Ricketts suggested that every option must be considered when looking at ways to reform our federal tax system. Among the list of alternatives Ricketts said should be on the table was a national sales tax known simply as the "Fair Tax."
The Democrat incumbent, U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, launched an attack on his opponent that was, at best, distorted and condescending, at worst, irrational demagoguery. One would have thought that Ricketts had suggested stealing all the assets of the poor and handing them over to Warren Buffet and Bill Gates.
Recently, the panel of pundits on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," discussing the apparent rise in popularity of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign message, scoffed at Huckabee's unabashed promotion of the Fair Tax.
George Will, the token "conservative" on the panel, brushed it aside with the disbelief of an elitist who cannot understand the burden of the average worker who would love to take home his or her entire paycheck, as the Fair Tax would allow him or her to do. Will opined that Huckabee's second place showing in the Iowa straw poll was even more amazing given the fact that "he supported a national sales tax of thirty percent, which means that if you buy a one million dollar house, you'll be writing a check to the government for three hundred thousand dollars." Of course, the others on the panel readily agreed.
The elites of this country, who buy those million-dollar homes, are not enamored with the Fair Tax. They would be if they took the time to understand its appeal.
The Fair Tax would replace all federal income taxes. No more federal withholding. No more Social Security withholding. No more Medicare withholding. No more stealing from the paychecks of American workers before they even see it and then pretending to give them a refund, without interest, at the end of the year. No more saving receipts for tax deductions. No more IRS audits. No more April 15th.
Instead, the Fair Tax would put us in control. All consumer items would be taxed. Business purchases would not. By allowing us to make the determination about what we buy and when we buy it, the ability of our legislators to manipulate our behavior is eliminated. That is why the elites don't like it. They can't control the public's spending habits under such a system.
The current federal tax system is broken. It cannot be fixed. Since the inception of the federal income tax with the passage of the 16th Amendment in 1913, federal corruption and control have turned it into a Frankenstein monster that torments the people and serves the special interests. A tax on a person's income is a tax on production, and as Ronald Reagan once said, "Whatever you tax, you get less of."
Because the poor are forced to spend a disproportionate percentage of their resources to cover the tax on necessities, the Fair Tax hits them the hardest. That issue can be addressed by simply issuing a "prebate" check each month to every household in the country. Unlike disingenuous tax credits, deductions, exemptions and other loopholes in the current income tax code, a prebate check is a clean, honest method of covering the sales tax on food, clothing and shelter - up to the poverty level.
Of course, removing the income tax on corporations will reduce the cost of everything we buy, since corporations don't pay taxes. They simply pass them along to consumers. The Fair Tax plan calculates that removing the corporate income tax will result in a reduction in the cost of virtually every consumer item on the market. In fact, it will just about offset the tax on those products. Imagine paying the same price for something but having your entire paycheck to buy it.
And then there are the billions of dollars that flow untaxed through our economy today: drug dealers, prostitutes, pornographers, foreign tourists. Imagine how much revenue could be raised simply by taxing the things those people consume.
There would be no more audits, no more justifying deductions, and April 15th would become just another spring day. But only if the people stand up to the elites and demand it.
(every time I look at that name I see "Killitoff")
Why in the world wouldn't they? I'm thinking that if providing the benefit comes with a tax break now but would incur a tax burden under the FairTax, some companies might even drop the benefit.
I'm also thinking that adding the 30% FairTax to the cost of insurance would increase the cost of insurance, particularily when insurance is responsible for the 30% tax on medical services provided to its customers. No, that can't be, its too obvious.
Once Clinton was gone, the Republican congress dropped fiscal responsibility like a hot potato.
If we had voters who would get off their dead butts and pay attention to what the politicians are doing to them, we would not have the idiots in office we have now, and the FairTax wouldn't have any trouble passing. THAT is the problem -- not the Fair TAx.
sorry.....that won’t happen.....and the mortgage deduction will NEVER go away.
According to the article: "No more federal withholding. No more Social Security withholding. No more Medicare withholding. Imagine paying the same price for something but having your entire paycheck to buy it."
But now you're changing that and saying the employee will NOT receive his entire paycheck? Well, that's different than what the article says, now isn't it?
Fine. Let's play by your new made-up rules. That gives the builder (and his suppliers) 12.4% to reduce his price (and let's assume he chooses to pass on all of that 12.4% to the buyer). Corporate income tax and compliance cost savings will add another 1-2%.
Now add the 30% Fair Tax. Sorry, but the price of the home increases 12% and the employee does NOT have his full paycheck. A double lie!
Opening what and engaging what?
I generally like the concept especially because it puts us on an equal footing with the VAT countries trade wise and it gives me control over how much tax I pay : )
The problem or opportunity that I see with the tax is that it is so easy to evade. Almost anything can be considered an investment and thus be tax free. My house is already in a corporation so instead of selling my house I would just sell shares of the Corporation and the buyer would avoid the 23% tax.The Government would have to really boost taxes on consumables to make up for the short fall.
The problem isn’t how we are taxed, the problem is that we are taxed too much. The government simply spends too much money. If the Governments spending was reduced to 5% or less of the GDP we could eliminate taxation.
You mean those VATs that don't exist in the US at the federal level? How does the FairTax eliminate what doesn't exist?
Another FairTax lie.
And what was Kotlikoff's estimate?You're asking me? I thought you were the one with all the information from the studies...Oh, you only know the secret information that isn't published yet, right?
The federal government was able to raise money before the 16th amendment. Won't they retain those sources of revenue even if the 16th is repealed? Can't they raise revenue with fees, or assessments, or licensing, or any method not called a "tax"?
Hell, they'll say something isn't a tax -- it's "shipping and handling". Clinton called federal tax revenue "investments", didn't he?
(39)Private consumers would receive lower (gross) wages under the FairTax because producer prices fall.....
And that estimate was for year 2007. Any chance government budgeted revenues were increased from 2005 to 2007? You didn’t bother to mention that did you?Well since YOU brought it up. The rate being revenue neutral and revenue INCREASED would mean an even HIGHER Fairtax rate...But I can see how you're confused by such simple logic.
But I'll try again READ THE FAIR TAX PROPOSAL and try to understand it.
Honest, it isn't that difficult -- if you will quit exspending all you energies on sneering at things you don't understand.
They will drop or they can drop? Big difference. There's nothing in the Fair Tax legislation that forces a domestic manufacturer to drop his wholesale price 23%, is there?
Which brings us to foreign manufacturers -- they won't be able to drop their prices at all, will they? (Not without cutting into profits.)
Now, I don't know about you, but just about everything I buy is imported. Which means my costs just went up 30%.
Hey, I got an idea! Instead of the Fair Tax, we leave the current tax system in place and simply tax imports at 30%! Same net effect, right? Think of the additional revenue that will be raised!
And think about where that revenue is coming from! Us!
All investing will simply move out of the country if it is pretaxed.
I've read your posts. I know you're smarter than that.
Now, if you want to claim that the current hidden taxes will be used to reduce prices 23% before the Fair Tax is added, I'll give you that for sake of argument. But "more money in their paychecks"? Save that for the ignorant masses.
So, it sounds likme you recommend doing nothing -- and just ssitting around griping and ridiculing any attempt at making changes, like you are doing now.
The FairTax leaves certain federal excise taxes in place, and thus the door open to add to the list to increase taxes without raising the sales tax rate.
My house is owned by a C Corp. So if I sold it I could just sell the stock instead. Any big transactions would just be a stock sale. Hmm I guess my house is previously owned too so it wouldn't be taxed even if I just sold it outright. I just don't see where the tax revenues come from then : (
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