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WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITHOUT FREE REPUBLIC?
Posted on 10/20/2011 2:26:28 AM PDT by dennisw
One trait of European VATs is that while their rates often start low, they rarely stay that way. Of the 10 major OECD nations with VATs or national sales taxes, only Canada has lowered its rate. Denmark has gone to 25% from 9%, Germany to 19% from 10%, and Italy to 20% from 12%. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation recently calculated that to balance the U.S. federal budget with a VAT would require a rate of at least 18%.
VATs were sold in Europe as a way to tax consumption, which in principle does less economic harm than taxing income, savings or investment. This sounds good, but in practice the VAT has rarely replaced the income tax, or even resulted in a lower income-tax rate. The top individual income tax rate remains very high in Europe despite the VAT, with an average on the continent of about 46%.
As Americans rush to complete their annual tax returns today, there is still some consolation in knowing that it could be worse: Like Europeans, we could pay both income taxes and a value-added tax, or VAT. And maybe we soon will. Paul Volcker, Nancy Pelosi, John Podesta and other allies of the Obama Administration have already floated the idea of an American VAT, so we thought you might like to know how it has worked in Europe.
A VAT is essentially a national sales tax that is assessed at each stage of production, with the bill passed along to consumers at the cash register. In Europe the average rate is a little under 20%. In the U.S., a federal VAT would presumably be levied on top of state and local sales taxes that range as high as 10%. Some nations also exempt food, medicine and certain other goods from the tax.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
*Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
Maybe, but they’d need 60% of the voting populace. Not 60% of the people that show up, but 60% of all persons eligible to vote.
The 999 most certainly has a personal income tax of 9% http://www.hermancain.com/999plan
I am going to the VAT wiki and see what the big deal is when freepers like you say it is so much different than a sales tax
A tax which is shared by EVERYONE is much more difficult to raise then taxes paid by only half of the citizens.
I have no problem with that! You obviously know the honorable history of tariffs in America and how with the institution of the income tax in 1913, income taxes started to gradually replace tariffs as primary funding for the Federale Gov’t in DC
Also the Federal Reserve was started in 1913. What a coincidence! That these two Progressive ideas became reality as tariffs were phased out
Oh, how about a potential of hundreds of percent vs 9%.
Wiki!?!?
Japan’s been in a 15-yr recession, and China’s economy is systemically rotten with malinvestment. I hardly think these are worthy examples to follow.
Correct but state and county sales taxes have gotten jacked up all the time in the last 40 years. A way is always found. You give the Federales a national sales tax to play around with, no telling what they might do
Japan is doing just fine. Are you silly enough to think it has declined into a Spain or Portugal? China has turned into an economic powerhouse over the last 30 years via exports. We owe them a few trillion, not the other way around.
The only recent event that dented Japan has been that earthquake and tsunami
I didn’t say Japan was a Spain or Portugal. Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan)
As for the “economic powerhouse” of China: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/china-business/8821094/Chinas-debt-spree-returns-to-haunt.html
Also: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/6575883/China-has-now-become-the-biggest-risk-to-the-world-economy.html
Free trade to the founding fathers meant the freedom of the individual to buy from and sell to any country. It did not mean slashing tariffs on imports while other countries maintain restrictions on imports. In fact, the federal government in the 19th century was funded primarily by tariffs.
For those who believe high tariffs are an impediment to economic growth, look at the US economy from 1865 to 1900. Consider the US economy in the 1980’s before the lowing of tariffs in the 1990’s.versus the US economy today. The dismantling of trade barriers under Clinton and Bush has not resulted in economic prosperity for the US. In fact it has resulted in the loss of the manufacturing sector and millions of middle class jobs. Bring back the tariffs and quotas of the 1980’s, lower taxes on profits derived from US manufacturing to zero, and reduce the government regulatory burden. You will see a booming economy as manufacturing returns to the USA.
I’ve always been a fan of putting everything up for a national public vote. If it’s not related to war or a natural disaster, it can wait.
And Congress would spend less time at DC as well.
He wants to abolish the current system and replace it with the same thing, in fewer words.
No more income tax at all.
What’s wrong with wanting to protect the country? We’ve been blown wide open for far too long.
Nothing wrong with wanting to protect the country, but obstructing free trade isn’t the way to do it.
Dennis,
You had better start doing a lot more homework than just reading talking points. I did and it was called a college paper on economics when the Flat Tax was being discusses and A VAT IS NOT ANYWHERE CLOSE to the sales tax component of the 999 plan. (keypoint to remember is “THIS” sales tax plan)
As said before, those who try to propagate this lie are either ignorant, stupid or politically disingenuous. Because of the nature of this site, I would say you are the latter but you still have the opportunity to prove me wrong, in a number of ways.
That IS a VAT!
Wrong.
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