Obama's National Sales Tax

NoLibUrls.com ^

[jentilla]

The reason why elites in Washington would look to a VAT before increasing income taxes is because not enough of the population even pays income taxes to make it worthwhile for the government to use the income tax structure to balance the budget. According to the Tax Policy Center, only about 47 percent of Americans will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. The government can extract the most amount of your wealth from a national sales tax (VAT) and Volker’s statement yesterday evidences a will on the part of this Administration to start the fear mongering process to tee up higher taxes.

[jentilla]

What? Half the people in this country don't pay taxes precisely because the pols have structured it that way to buy their votes. Now, they complain they can't use the income tax structure to raise taxes on poor people???

[Jim Robinson]

F’n idiots. Vote them ALL out!!

[goodnesswins]

YEP...what YOU SAID!

[OneWingedShark]

Government: Creating solutions for problems that don’t exist; thereby creating real problems they ‘fix’ by making things more complex.

[JoeFromSidney]

It's important not to confuse a VAT with a sales tax. VAT is imposed along the line from manufacturer to retail, but is invisible to the retail purchaser. A sales tax is imposed at the retail purchase point, and is highly visible to the purchaser. If they want to tax retail purchases, let them do it so the taxes are visible to the purchaser. A VAT is intended to hide the tax.

Granted, the total tax paid is the same regardless of whether the VAT is x% or the sales tax is x%, but the VAT hides the fact. That's why politicians like it.

[swarthyguy]

Question is, will it get done this summer when the country pays less attention to DC shenanigans?

[TigerBait]

Should that 47% not paying taxes be allowed to vote?

If they aren’t paying anything for government, why should they be able to write a sign a check on someone else’s bank account?

[Tublecane]

Sales taxes, VAT taxes, and progressive income taxes for that matter, all have their attractions and faults. But one thing that’s certain, having two or more of them at the same time is a horrible idea.

[Dan Nunn]

I wish people would spell out that a VAT IS NOT A SALES TAX!! It's MUCH worse!!

[mlocher]

Nah — the dems are trying to give Obama cover because he said, “There will be no new taxes on the middle class (those earning less than $250K a year).” He can still say he did not raise income taxes.

[SonOfDarkSkies]

Raises taxes in a weak economy is like bleeding fluid from an already weak hydraulic system.

It doesn't matter who pays it or how it is withdrawn, it will kill the economy!

[Dan Nunn]

Granted, the total tax paid is the same

I guess the total tax paid at retail sale may be the same. It's hardly the same in the product's production cycle (and thus, is passed onto the consumer).

[Blood of Tyrants]

Bernanke mentioned Social Security, Medicare, Education and Defense as areas of government spending that would be targeted if we don’t raise taxes.

It's always with the programs that will cause the PEOPLE the most pain. They could close down 50 alphabet agencies and save $500 billion a year and no one except the employees at them would ever notice.

[TheThirdRuffian]

Theoretically -— theoretically -— I think a balance of income tax and VAT is a good thing, in that the absurd taxation of the productive kills the economy.

And 50% of Americans don’t do their part in feeding the bloat that is the US gubmint. The pain should be shared, so that it is lessened.

VAT also discourages rampant credit card debt.

But the realist in me knows it will be just another method to keep people down and an endless suck on the economy.

[GeronL]

The VAT is not a sales tax.

Its a tax on productivity and prospoerity

[mlocher]

This is a good point -- although the total tax amount remains the same and the effect on the economy will be the same.

My theory is that the VAT allows the gov't to have its greedy hooks into all phases of production, so that it can better keep track of what is going on. It is also a means to ultimate control what is going on. The next step is to vary the VAT rate depending on industry and what stage of production the ultimate product is in.

This is about $$$ and control.

[Yo-Yo]

The reason why elites in Washington would look to a VAT before increasing income taxes is because not enough of the population even pays income taxes to make it worthwhile for the government to use the income tax structure to balance the budget.

Not only do they not pay income tax, through the perversion of the tax codes they get a reverse-income tax check called the "earned income tax credit" that pays them.

[Tublecane]

“Granted, the total tax paid is the same regardless of whether the VAT is x% or the sales tax is x%, but the VAT hides the fact. That’s why politicians like it.”

They might like it, since it hides their interference. But the iron laws (or tendencies, I suppose I should say) of economics ensures that VATs will raise prices, thereby decreasing demand, thereby passing the cost back to the origin of production, thereby decreasing production, thereby slashing incomes, ultimately reducing revenue. So clever as they are, governments are too stupid to maximize their profits, even when they’re underhanded.

[dfwgator]

Income tax is a tax on productivity.

[GeronL]

The VAT tax inflates the price at retail, then you have the sales tax. Taxes on Taxes.