White House Floats Idea of Dropping Income Tax (altogether)

New York Times, Business and Financial Desk, Page 14, Column 5 ^ | 2/8/2003 | EDMUND L. ANDREWS

[Bigun]

White House Floats Idea of Dropping Income Tax Overhaul By EDMUND L. ANDREWS

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 — President Bush, having already set off a firestorm over his proposals to cut taxes and revamp retirement accounts, suggested today that the time might be near to drop the income tax as a whole and replace it with some form of consumption tax...

[DAnconia55]

I'll vote for Bush for the next 30 years, if he does this ... :)

[The Duke]

So, let me get this right....the very government that consistently moves to increase it's power over me wants to DECREASE the amount of my money it takes?

Yeah, right!

Let's see...let me guess...hmmm...could it be a "Value Added Tax (VAT)" that would replace the income tax?

[FreedomCalls]

So all the money that I have spent a lifetime to save and which was taxed as income, will now be double-taxed as I spend it? You're killing me here. Will you exempt my savings?

[Bigun]

This guy called in and said that he owns a business where his clients are big corporations, and they traditionally don't pay their bills until sometimes 60 or 90 days out, and the tax on what they buy would break this guy's account if he had to pay the tax before he got paid for the job.

Methinks he doesn't understand the way this would work!

There would be no tax on items sold for re-sale. Items or services taxed ONLY one time, at the point of RETAIL sale!

[Dubya]

Good news Good way to do it.
I would like to see TEXAS drop property tax on homes for school funding and use a state tax.
That way even the illegal pay tax.

[Arkinsaw]

5% wouldn't do it. It would be more on the order of 17%.

It would be funny to see what happened when people were faced with just how much they are really paying. Bet it wouldn't stay 17% very long.

[CyberAnt]

Is anyone else getting the impression this President likes to see the dems in a hissy fit ...??

[ScholarWarrior]

WWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Holy crap, you could knock me over with a feather right now!

[graycamel]

Get rid of income tax? Good idea. Replace with consumption (sales) tax? Very bad idea. Sales taxes discourage sales, the very thing that strengthen our economy. Instead, all taxes should be collected by the states, or even by the counties and cities as they do in Virginia. Then, what the states don't need, they can send to the US government. The federal government wants to micromanage everything, so before this can ever come to pass, the Congress will have to pass several laws to close down all the departments that the federal government has NO BUSINESS running. They will never do that, though.

[TheDon]

Hip Hip Hooray!

[Mo1]

Just think of all the lobbyists who would be out of a job too!

Wow .. and a bonus too

[TheDon]

Unless there are no taxes on the basics of life, i.e. medical care, food, etc.

[Bigun]

This is a really bad idea. Britain did the same thing. They eliminated their income tax and replaced it with a national Value Added Tax (VAT).

If that is what we were talking about doing here I would agree with you! But it ISN'T! Not by a LONG shot!

PLEASE Go Here and LEARN!

[Spirited]

"the report could turn out to be a blueprint for his goals in a second presidential term."

He may run on it. He will never produce it. Like Clinton, the fun is in the game.

Dream on in make-believe world.

[NordP]

Oh...good. Like I said, I'm all for it. I wonder why Walter Williams wasn't aware of that???

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

In related news, Hillary Klinton doesn't know whether to sh-t or go blind.

[glock rocks]

That way even the illegal pay tax.

hoo ah! now that kicks ass.

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[NordP]

My wish is that she would do both ;-)

did I say that??? it flowed right out, too!