[Cincinatus' Wife]

I was around for the Steve Forbes Flat Tax debate and feel Herman Cain's "9-9-9" Plan needs more exposure (as it is his main platform). I support Gov. Rick Perry's GOP Primary candidacy. However, I was curious to know more about Herman Cain's tax proposal and asked about the "9-9-9" Plan on another thread. I was given a link to Herman Cain's plan (same link as in article above).

The "ease" of "9-9-9" disappears upon first glance and upon closer scrutiny, the idea that this can survive all process levels, seems shaky indeed.

Hopefully, this article will initiate discussion, and this thread will provide a polite forum for rebuttal, so in the end we all will have increased understanding.

[riri]

Any opening to a VAT is the complete end to our way of life. The VATs in Europe range from 17% to a mindblowing 25%. Hence, everything is a major purchase. McDonalds value meals can be as much as $15 and a pair of Levis, $125. Apply those types of prices to near everything.

I love the idea of the 51% who currenly pay nothing paying something too but i know where 999 will lead. They’ll get credits (checks back from the taxpayer) and we will get ever rising consumer prices.

[Hugin]

Adding a sales tax without repealing the income tax at the same time means you will never get rid of either one.

[aruanan]

No new taxes, Herman.

[YankeeReb]

Bump for later.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

I like Cain a lot.

But enabling a federal income tax and a federal sales tax at the same time is very, very bad.

To implement a federal sales tax, first an amendment to the USC must be passed stating that the federal government can never have both taxes at the same time.

Otherwise, they will just continue to jack up both rates until we’re paying 25% on both, or 50% total.

Cain should know better.

[SoJoCo]

I’ll take Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan more seriously as soon as he explains what he will cut to eliminate the $1.7 trillion to $2.2 trillion deficit that it will generate.

[9YearLurker]

Perry’s not my solution at all and I’d vote for Cain ahead of him, but you’re right, Cain’s 999 plan is a bad fantasy.

[eastforker]

There is a huge underground economy in this country that completely goes untaxed, so we really can’t use IRS figures.

[Erik Latranyi]

This proposal starts a discussion.

The final legislation is not determined by the POTUS.

[lucky american]

I could see all of the IRS employees let go and that number is in the hundreds of thousands. They would need jobs.

If we had a Constitutional amendment to keep these taxes at a level for so many years, and then to be voted on by the people to see if they need to be raised or lowered.

I spend so much money now to comply with the tax codes.
Any thing is better than what we have.

I don't mind paying “my fair share” I mind having that money go to welfare, Charlie Rangel Libraries and bridges to no where.

[9YearLurker]

Another thing. Cain’s for favored tax treatments in empowerment zones, which is just another form of affirmative action.

Yes, Jack Kemp was for them and they are supposed to be a hallowed GOP idea because they favor blacks on a supposedly quasi-free market basis. But they are just another form of well-intended, unfair social engineering.

[rightwingextremist1776]

I think the Federal government needs to get completely out of the “income” tax game. To tempting to play the winners and losers game. The income tax needs to be repealed PERIOD. Until that happens the socialists will always have the upper hand.

[jmaroneps37]

You see what one good poll result will do? Nobody said a word about Herman Cain before except that he is Black and sold pizza. Now he is a target. This brings us back to my point that who the next Republican president is (and it will be a Republican)will really not be important because the TEA party Congress will control the agenda, not the White House. Welcome to the top tier Herman.

[DaxtonBrown]

[But Fair Tax enthusiasts ought to be ready to deal with the emergence of a very large black market in untaxed consumer goods — a 30 percent sales tax will ensure that.]

The problem isn't the Fair Tax in theory, it is the fair tax in implementation. What happens as that tax creeps up?

[Molon Labbie]

Please forgive my lack of knowledge on the tax issue, but it has interested me more and more of late.

In your opinions and experience, what is the possibility of the elimination of all income taxes for citizens and have all government taxes be realized through sales or usage tax?

EVERYONE, regardless of socioeconomic status, must buy products and services. This way, EVERYONE pays something, no filing of personal income taxes, and greatly reduces the size of the IRS. No one who doesn’t work should get a tax refund but that happens every year.

I firmly believe you should keep everything you earn on your paycheck and YOU should decide what comes out of it.

[Huck]

Cain's tax plan is idiotic nonsense. It's gimmickry. It's just what you'd expect from a fast-food guy. It should come with a side of garlic bread.

But worse, bringing the idea of a national sales tax into the conversation is dangerous and should be stopped. In short, Cain needs to shut the hell up about it. But of course he won't. Here's hoping his 15 minutes are up quickly.

[CPOSharky]

...my English-major math suggests that a 9 percent tax on all of the above produces about $1.7 trillion in revenue, meaning that 2010’s $1.7 trillion deficit would have been more like a $2.2 trillion deficit...

Yo, Kevin, your libtard education doesn't recognize that lower taxes result in higher revenue. It's probably because libtards are trying to make the public think the words "taxes" and "revenue" mean the same thng.

[Tim n Texas]

I would vote for Cain, but I wish he’d get off this 999 trick. It may have good properties, but there are too many unknowns, leaving Cain exposed to the Dems attack. They’ll will have a field day scaring the electorate. We need to focus the electorate on Obama’s record.

[aruanan]

Cain said that if 10% is good enough for God, then 9% should be good enough for the government. Well, 9% X 3 = 27%. Better he proposed a 3-3-3 scheme: 3% income tax on all income, 3% Social Security tax, and 3% capital gains tax. For those who'd say that it wouldn't provide enough revenue for the federal government, tell them, just wait for a few years. Oh, another part of the tax scheme should be that revenue in excess of expenses pays off the national debt. After that, revenues in excess of expenses are returned to the taxpayers in proportion to their taxes paid.

[Future Snake Eater]

May I propose a Williamson’s Rule of Politics? Here it is: “Any plan that includes the words ‘educating the American people’ will fail.”

That's just a little pessimistic, don't you think?