Posted on 11/06/2002 1:39:57 PM PST by Tree of Liberty
Neil Cavuto just interviewed Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., the director of the OMB, and Neil let it be known that he's hearing rumblings that Pres. Bush is considering a total re-write of the tax code and that SecTreas O'Neill is strongly pushing a national retail sales tax!
I have yet to pay sales tax at a flea market in VA where I have bought all the necessities of life: food, clothing, tools, etc.
So what is your paranoia over?
If the flea market seller remits the tax at some prior purchase before it is sold to you, no NRST is collected at sale to you except as he may demand a higher price from you to compensate himself for tax paid on those things he's selling.
If he's selling you servicable used goods, which clothing and tools often are at such markets, again no problem with NRST.
In any case tThe states will still be who administers the NRST.
H.R.2525
SPONSOR: Rep Linder, John (introduced 07/17/2001)
A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national retail sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.
Refer: http://www.fairtax.org & http://www.salestax.org
The history of the use of retails sales taxes simply do not support your sky is falling view as your own statement provide evidence to.
Well Jim, basic food items and housing are exempt from the national retail sales tax (hr2525) via a rebate mechanism that prevents anyone from paying tax on the necessities of life. Is that what you mean?
But poor folks will pay no sales tax, as the necessities of life are tax free.
Good point.
The revenues needed for SS and medicare will be funded through sales tax revenues. In fact there are sales tax bills that do not include SS/MC and still withhold 15.3% for it. That's bad.
But by paying for SS/MC via sales tax revenue we get to eliminate all withholding - a good thing... even though it makes the rate go up 8%.
Take a look here.
I am at ease with the current system. Sales tax is low and the volume at the flea market is low enough for the tax collectors to ignore. Under an NRST, my understanding from this discussion is that the tax authorities will require wholesale purchases to be tracked. For example my sock vendor will be identified when he purchases the socks in L.A. and has them shipped here.
If the tax goes up, he will have an incentive to sell untaxed socks to me at a private sale. He might say he lost the sock shipment, he might have the socks made locally in a cottage, he might smuggle them through our busy ports. In any case the government will have a larger incentive to track all shipments of all merchandise at the wholesale level.
What could decrease my ability to purchase anonymously is the tracking technology and the "legitimizing" of vendors. I could easily foresee a day when the flea market is either shut down or patrolled with agents looking for "new" merchandise.
If retailers are tracked at the wholesale level that would require coordination across state lines.
A person is not a retailer in the NRST sense unless they apply for certification and an ID as such. If you as a flea market seller purchase goods in one state, you pay the tax then and there on what you purchase to that seller. There is no tracking across state borders of taxed sales items to individuals.
Sell all you wish in a flea market and charge no tax to your heart's content. Just have your receipts ready if you are ever questioned by state authorities when selling goods in such flea markets.
The social security administration will administer...they're not new (but they are a bureaucracy!).
Another thing that worries me is that even if the income tax is not being withheld from checks anymore, SS and Medicare still will be...
Nope. SS and MC are funded via sales tax revenues. All withholding is over - kaput. Remember they'll be no IRS...
I'm glad "you're open", because you have lots to learn!
Look here for FAQs or here for general info.
Under an NRST, my understanding from this discussion is that the tax authorities will require wholesale purchases to be tracked.
Where do you get that from? Only sales that are taxed are retail. If you don't have a business certification when purchasing goods, you pay NRST on the item at the price it is sold to you. The business selling the item to you is responsible for remitting the tax to the state tax authority.
Wholesale is nothing more than a marketer's term, if one sells something, not previously taxed, to a person who has no business certification, the tax is to be collected and receipt issued.
The rule of the NRST is tax once but only once. If it is at a "whosale" price lucky you, the wholesale ronly answers to his suppliers for that issue.
If you're worried about ending up with both an income and sales tax, you're smart to worry.
That being said, you need to know that we are in great jeopardy of that happening right now - starting with internet sales.
The fact is we are not protected from this double-whammy at all right now. We could wake up tomorrow and have both. Horrific thought, eh?
Look into HR2525, Phantom Lord. Because it offers several significant barriers to having both systems.
Briefly; it defunds IRS, it destroys existing income tax records, it erases the entire income tax code out of existence, and it eliminates any withholding whatsoever.
That would make it much, much more difficult than now to end up with both systems.
That being said, you're damn right we need to repeal the 16th! But don't make us wait until a constitutional amendment can be passed- that'll be long after the thirst for tax reform has been eliminated by dem/lib pols.
Indeed, the most frequently used reason for not wanting a sales tax is feeding fear based on ignorance....sound like a dem/lib arguement?!
I could easily foresee a day when the flea market is either shut down or patrolled with agents looking for "new" merchandise.
Many states randomly check flea markets now, hasn't shut them down yet. If an item sold is obviously worn or damaged, no prima-facia case of not requiring NRST. If it is packaged and sold as "new" in business volume, It would certainly behove one to be able to show purchase receipts with taxed paid.
You expect a free ride or something? You violate a law, you takes your chances.
The retailer will have a receipt from Vinny in L.A. saying he paid NRST or he didn't. The VA authorities will have to talk to the CA authorities to verify the receipt. If there was tax, Vinny could remit tax paid by some other buyer and claim it was paid by the VA buyer. If there was no tax, the chain goes even further.
On the other hand I can see how demanding receipts could uncover some smuggling.
Of course, since your car, house, and airplane are used, there would be NO TAX on them. Why would it matter if you used cash?
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