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The Missing Piece of 9-9-9
The American Spectator ^ | October 13, 2011 | Green Lantern

Posted on 10/13/2011 5:19:07 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

Herman Cain's "9-9-9" tax reform is attracting enough attention to become the focus of this week's Presidential debate. As a plan for overhauling revenues and unleashing the private sector, it's a bold gambit that shows Cain is willing to take chances and shake up the Capital.

The 9 percent business tax is a stroke of genius. It would give us the lowest business rates in the world and would make us the "tax haven" for investment from everywhere. The stock market would barely be able to stay abreast. The 9 percent personal income rate would eliminate all the deductions and put everyone on a level playing field. Tax collection from "the rich" would skyrocket because no one would hide income anymore, but "the other 99%" would make out as well. Cain's plan would fold in the 15 percent payroll tax so the new 9 percent rate would be an improvement - but would end the immunity that the bottom half has from paying any taxes at all. Altogether a good show.

The stickler is that 9 percent national sales tax. That's where things start to fall apart....

The sales tax has long been the preserve of the states and is now imposed in all but five of them (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon). The informal arrangement has been that the federal government gets income taxes, the states get the sales tax and local municipalities are granted the property tax. Often they poach. States and even cities have imposed income taxes and have also started trespassing on the property tax. But for the federal government to demand a 9 percent sales tax would be a whole new departure. Combined with state and city levies, it puts us near 20 percent, which is black market territory.

(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 999; 999sucks; cain2012; cainiscrazy; flimflamman; gopprimary; loserplan; revenue; tas; taxes
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

If you have a 15% tax and you replace it with a 9% tax, is that “another” tax?

I can’t believe what I am seeing in terms of freepers being totally closed-minded about a discussion about lowering overall tax burdens.


261 posted on 10/13/2011 2:52:25 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Also, it’s not just the payroll tax (15% for both shares) that goes away. It’s the capital gains tax, the death tax, maybe a few more.

So at least three major taxes are eliminated and replaced with one that, percentage-wise, doesn’t even come close to the ones that were eliminated, and your argument is you don’t want “another tax”?


262 posted on 10/13/2011 2:54:06 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: fightinJAG

I agree with you. I was just ruminating on the idea of narrowing the tax so that it couldn’t be avoided or black-marketed.

It is extremely hard to refine gasoline, to transport it, and to safely deliver it to automobiles.

$21 dollars a gallon, though, would prove that energy is more elastic than people might think....horses and buggies, for example.

But, energy would be one of a few items one could focus a sales tax on, so that the black market would have difficulty avoiding it. Fossil fuel, at least, by its very nature requires a controlled distribution.


263 posted on 10/13/2011 2:55:36 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! True Supporters of our Troops PRAY for their VICTORY!)
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To: Scotsman will be Free
Raise the cost of electricity and fuel and EVERYTHING goes up. What an idiot.

Good reason to go with the NST instead.

Under the author's proposal, you'd pay higher prices for fuel and those higher fuel prices would also cause you to pay more for goods.

264 posted on 10/13/2011 2:56:38 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: Beelzebubba

It is a dumb idea so there is no real point in arguing if it is progressive or regressive but my deeming it regressive is because it is not progressive. The increase in electricity cost as a percentage of total income for the “rich” is less than for the not-rich and is thus Regressive. The situation is much the same as a consumption tax on food which is also Regressive.

Arguably, the rich consume more electricity in absolute units but they can only consume so much and that amount usually results in expenditure of a smaller percentage of total income than for the non-rich.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regressive_tax

A regressive tax is a tax imposed in such a manner that the tax rate decreases as the amount subject to taxation increases. The effective tax, not directly levied to the end user but still passed through in direct proportion to the amount of electricity consumed, is regressive in the sense that electricity consumption is generally a larger portion of the income of the less wealthy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_tax

A progressive tax is a tax by which the tax rate increases as the taxable base amount increases... The carbon tax proposed would apply equally to all end user electric rates... not progressive in effective tax rate as in increasing as more electricity is consumed thus the rate is not progresive it is equally proportional to consumption.

Liberals like Progressive Taxes... conservatives don’t.


265 posted on 10/13/2011 2:57:28 PM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Half the people are below average.)
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To: kenmcg

The 9% is not just “added on” to the real economy as it stands now.

The plan includes several provisions that would put downward pressure on prices and would increase household income (by lowering income taxes).


266 posted on 10/13/2011 2:58:31 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: Jeff Head
While it is true a new sales tax is added federally, Cain takes away two taxes while doing so. No more inheritance tax, and no more capital gains tax.

Don't forget that Cain's plan also eliminates the payroll tax (15% for employee/employer share).

267 posted on 10/13/2011 3:00:30 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: SoJoCo
A bogus claim right off the bat. The overwhelming majority of people in this country are not self-employed so they don't pay a 15 percent payroll tax. They pay, currently, 5.56 percent so right off the bat Cain's plan is an increase for the majority of people in the country

Regardless of how it gets back into the economy, are you against putting payroll tax money back into the private sector?

Do you agree that lowering the overall tax burden on the economy spurs economic growth which would then help all Americans?

A claim is not "bogus" simply because it doesn't apply specifically to your particular situation. The fact is that whether it comes from self-employed or employee+employer shares, under the Cain plan, the 15% payroll tax (again, regardless of whether it's paid in one shot or two) is returned to the economy for private use.

268 posted on 10/13/2011 3:07:25 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: Erik Latranyi

Thank you so very much. What a relief as I’m reading through this thread.

I can’t believe I am seeing conservatives go batshiit over a plan that abolishes the tax code, eliminates the IRS, makes everyone a stakeholder and, oh, lowers, simplifies and makes transparent the overall tax burden on the economy.

Also seeing a lot of “what about me.” Wow.

I’ve been here a long time and this takes the cake.

On the other hand, I can’t believe the GOP finally had someone bold enough to present a big idea such as this one. That’s amazing!


269 posted on 10/13/2011 3:11:51 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: saminfl; SoJoCo

Yes, the actual rate of the employee share of the payroll tax is 7.5%. It is a little lower because of a “tax holiday,” I think.

Of course, that rate could go up — gasp! — even if a plan such as 999 weren’t enacted. And since, under the present system, only the about 50% of us who are paying taxes would be affected by the tax hike, once again we’d have little political power to resist the assault of the parasites on our earnings.


270 posted on 10/13/2011 3:15:21 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: bamahead
The COST OF LIVING will DROP folks. The 9% sales tax will merely level that out. Any other criticism that AVOIDS the embedded tax portion of the arguement is DISHONEST.

Yes.

People are acting as though 9% would be slapped on prices frozen in time today. Wrong.

By the time businesses were free of the payroll tax and the corporate tax -- coupled with households generally having more disposable income because of a lower tax rate -- you would quickly see these companies getting busy on trying to gain market share and grow sales volume with price decreases.

Anyone can understand that if a business can lower the price of a good and thus spur increases in the volume of sales, it makes money.

That is what would happen in the entire economy. Prices would go down, volume of sales would go up, economic growth would be wonderful.

271 posted on 10/13/2011 3:19:22 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: alicewonders

OMG!!!!! The Cain loopholes are so horrible!!! Please don’t take me out of the loving arms of the present tax code, which reaches to over 5,000 pages with loopholes!!!


272 posted on 10/13/2011 3:21:56 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: SoJoCo
I read through the entire paper at your link and will do so again more thoroughly. For now, here's the problem with the paper's argument:

First, it is evaluating the impact of reduction in corporate income taxes as a *short-term stimulus* to the economy. That is the not the standard by which we should be evaluating 999. This is about major, fundamental reform, not a gimmicky short-term stimulus.

Secondly, here's the assumption that pervades and perverts this paper's whole analysis:

Further long-term revenue losses, such as those associated with a permanent corporate income tax rate cut,

IOW, this group, whoever they are, start with the assumption that corporate tax rate cuts cause long-term revenue losses. That simply is not correct. Or at the minimum, it's not indisputable.

If you (generic) don't agree with the Laffer Curve (that broadening the tax base and lowering rates always increases revenues), then walk away from the discussion table now. Your analysis has nothing to offer those who do agree with the Laffer Curve and are going to evaluate a proposal, such as 999, against that economic principle.

Thanks for the interesting link.

P.S. I'm sure you heard today that Art Laffer endorsed the 999 plan. That is huge. (Also hugh.)

273 posted on 10/13/2011 3:38:16 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: fightinJAG

He was just on FOX news and again said 999 was a great program. But here on FR we have our own pseudo experts who will find fault with any candidate...not from Texas.


274 posted on 10/13/2011 3:40:22 PM PDT by Recon Dad (Honkies for Herman......Crackers for Cain)
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To: alicewonders
a lot of them are under a misconception that Cain’s plan is radically different than what we are paying now. It’s not

That's an interesting conclusion. Could you elaborate on it a little? How is the 999 plan essentially no different from the present system of taxation?

Thanks.

275 posted on 10/13/2011 3:40:34 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: Beagle8U

I would absolutely love a tax code that could be jotted down on a cocktail napkin! Bring it on!


276 posted on 10/13/2011 3:41:50 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: SoJoCo

Do you really think that in this type of economic environment that corporations would not take steps to increase consumer sales if that were possibly and financially viable?

Of course they would. What that paper you cited was talking about (in 2001) might occur when a corporation was pretty flush with sales, but not when it’s treading water in terms of moving its goods.

A corporation cannot stay alive without earnings. And it can’t keep investors without earnings, either. So its bias will always be toward increasing earnings (sales) if that is lagging.

Also, putting costs savings toward investors still helps the economy. Investors are also consumers.


277 posted on 10/13/2011 3:47:22 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: Future Snake Eater

ping to #273.


278 posted on 10/13/2011 3:48:34 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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To: fightinJAG

Yup. It ain’t rocket surgery.


279 posted on 10/13/2011 3:49:21 PM PDT by Scotsman will be Free (11C - Indirect fire, infantry - High angle hell - We will bring you, FIRE)
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To: NoDRodee

Amen!


280 posted on 10/13/2011 3:49:55 PM PDT by fightinJAG (Herman Cain actually IS a rocket scientist.)
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