[Jim Robinson]

Dump the income tax and the IRS! Implement a national sales tax!

This allows the taxpayer the choice of deciding when and how much tax he is willing to pay. Also sets a natural limit on the tax and therefoe on the size of the federal government. When the taxpayer actually pays the tax out of his own pocket (as opposed to having it deducted from his paycheck) he feels it. It hurts! He will scream bloody murder when it hurts too much.

And, just as important in my book, it gets the government out of our personal affairs, as in, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated..."

The national sales tax eliminates the need for tax audits! Elimnate the IRS, Medicare and the Social Security TAX and get the federal government out of our lives!

[lelio]

The national sales tax eliminates the need for tax audits!
It doesn't eliminate tax audits, but it sure makes them a lot less painful. Its just "How much did you buy and how much did you sell" question. They'll still have to do audits, but since everything is more transparent they can really pick out the bad apples easily without having to spend a year going through their tax return.

[hchutch]

I'd only favor that is we first dealt with the 16th Amendment. Otherwise, we end up with BOTH an income tax and sales tax. If the 16th Amendment is repealed (we need 67 Senators and 290 Representatives to do that), I'm for it. But not until that point.

OTOH, a FLAT income tax with personal exemptions, the mortgage-interest deduction, and a 401(k) exemption would be a lot easier to get passed, and we do NOT have the higher hurdle of dealing with the Amendment process. It's a good short-term compromise - and we can always work towards repealing the 16th Amendment. But if the 16th Amendment isn't repealed and we get a sales tax, we're in trouble if the Left gets in.

The other big thing, IMO, is to COMPLETELY erase corporate taxation, and make this country a much less hostile business climate. Businesses produce productive jobs - we need to do everything to encourage them to come here. That HAS to be part of any tax reform package.

[mikegi]

I think that the advantages of the NRST would only be temporary. Within a few years, it would be a convoluted mess with income-testing, etc.

A better way to turn the tide on taxation would be to make EVERYONE pay estimated taxes. No more "funny money" coming out of your paycheck. I want everyone to actually get their hands on their hard-earned dollars then have to give it away to the government.

[Nephi]

The national sales tax eliminates the need for tax audits!

Considering the source, that's a surprisingly naive statement.