Posted on 12/24/2007 7:55:05 AM PST by Alex Murphy
WASHINGTON — Mike Huckabee, one of the most conservative Republicans in the 2008 presidential race, has embraced one of the most radical ideas on the campaign trail: a plan to abolish all federal income and payroll taxes and replace them with a single 23% national sales tax.
The idea -- dubbed the "fair tax" by proponents -- has been a political asset for Huckabee; its well-organized backers have helped catapult him from the back of the presidential pack to its top tier.
Sales tax proponents have tapped into seething voter hostility toward the Internal Revenue Service to become a below-the-radar political force, popping up at campaign events and candidate forums in Iowa and elsewhere.
The efforts on Huckabee's behalf by sales tax advocates helped spur his surprise second-place showing in an August Iowa straw poll -- the breakthrough that marked the beginning of his rise in the state and nationwide.
He is the only major presidential candidate to make the idea central to his campaign. "The first thing I'd love to do as president: Put a 'going out of business' sign on the Internal Revenue Service," he said at one debate.
Some wonder, however, whether his embrace of the plan eventually could turn into a liability.
The sales tax proposal has been around for years but languished on the fringes of practical politics and policy. Tax professionals generally regard the idea as impractical, regressive and even "crackpot," as one critic puts it.
It has gone nowhere in Congress. The 2005 Presidential Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform soundly rejected the idea. And many politicians shy away from it because it is easy for opponents to portray it as a huge tax increase -- as Democrats did in a 2006 Senate race in South Carolina.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
If it was up to me I would simply tax all deposits and disbursements from banks.
Our system is a closed system. All cash that goes into the system runs through a bank sooner or later.
All these people who you see at the teller window depositing wads of cash from their business would have their deposit reduced by the tax. The bank would send the tax to the goverment. They can’t hide the cash forever because whenever they spend it it will still get to the bank somehow.
Any check deposits would be treated the same way. In addition any check that clears your account would be increased or decreased by the tax depending if the check is a deposit or disbursment.
The tax would be very low. A fraction of a % both ways.
There is more detail to it but this is just the general idea.
John
It's not that anything you say is untrue per-se, its just the manner in which you tell the truth that makes you an Anti-Fair-Tax Bigot.
You shouldn't be so dogmatic. Just because you're telling the truth doesn't mean you aren't a bigot. A lot of people have serious religious beliefs attached to this Fair Tax religion and pointing out the flaws in this system hurts their feelings and offends their religious convictions.
For many this Fair Tax is a sacrament or a sacred thing close to their hearts.
So quit being such an Anti-Fair-Tax Bigot. Go spread your vile hateful bigotry on another forum.
Hey, this strategy works on Romney Threads.
Merry Christmas to you too...
:0)
My,my you should be proud of yourself.
You dont suppose he has an agenda do ya?
Come on Xcamel.It replaces the current income tax.At least we like the same candidate.Shocking
Does it repeal the 16th Amendment? Or does it just make empty promises?
Does the term "Indian Giver" mean anything to you?
“It’s not that anything you say is untrue per-se, its just the manner in which you tell the truth that makes you an Anti-Fair-Tax Bigot.”
Hilarious! I’m correct, but my manner is offending the tender feelings of those devoted to a bad idea! I think I can live with it. It kind of reminds me of when I wouldn’t let my teenager joy ride around town with his friend, and he hated me for a while. I could live with that too.
Actually I’m much more polite to the fair-taxers, who are merely mistaken, than to the global-warming Gore-bots, who are actually quite insane.
Very comprehensive comment. Thank you.
The elders who are retired feel secure under the present system. The get their senior discounts, social security which they promply head to gamble and dump into the one armed bandits.
Ask a senior of such if they are concerned that social security will not be around for their children or grand kids. You’ll be shocked at how many of them say “its thier problem and not ours.”
Ask them if they would go for a system that would grant thier kids a secure retirment plan of their own choice and that they might have to take less in social security benefits as a result. I bet a good portion will say “NO WAY!” Its MINE, ALL MINE AND THEY HANVENT A RIGHT TO IT.
I’ve done this and came up with those answers from them. The honest ones stated that they havent the foggiest idea of what should be done.
I just ran the calculator and I would see a substantial increase in my taxes. At least they have an honest calculator.
Insanity is a legitimate defense. Being deluded is a willful choice.
We still pay taxes. We pay state and local sales tax on everything we buy. We pay federal income taxes on interest that our savings earn. Some of us are still working part time to supplement our social security income. You act like we are all getting a free ride.
So kindly tell me what “services” I get from government? Don’t even bother bringing up Social Security b/c I’ve been paying into it since 1955 and if the government wants to reimburse all my contributions PLUS COMPOUND INTEREST, that’s fine by me. They can also quit taxing me on my interest income and I’ll do just fine. Don’t bring up Medicare either because between my Medicare premiums, my supplemental policy to cover the 20% Medicare doesn’t pay, and my Part D drug benefit, I’m paying over $350.00 a month for health insurance. That’s more than I paid when I was working full time.
So spare me your generational warfare.
Egg-Zactly.
It's under the assumptions tab, last. IMO it should be first.
How cute.
Please enumerate for me the “senior discounts” given by government.
I’ll wait.................
MEDISCAM!
Guess what will happen when they figure out that you don't spend enough to be "paying your fair share"....
That's a point that the fair tax people can't figure out; those of us that have worked all our lives, paid income tax on our savings, much of which wasn't tax sheltered.
With the fair tax we'd have to pay tax on it again, at least on the principal.
I hesitate to try and paraphrase the "solution" for fear of misrepresenting their argument but basically it was "the price of everything will go down so much that it'll be a wash". Gee, thanks, like I really think that's going to happen.
I do agree that the current tax code is a mess but the big problem is that the goobermint simply spends too much of our money and there's NOTHING that would keep them from raising that 23% to 33% or more and if they don't do that spend it anyway.
It's what happens when dummies want goobermint to take all their money and "take care of them" and until this country gets stuck off stupid it's not going to stop, regardless of the collection method.
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.