Posted on 06/13/2003 4:31:03 PM PDT by certify
Edited on 04/13/2004 3:31:27 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
MM
Their continued support of an income tax system that taxes the worldwide profits of its companies (and citizens) is driving US companies (and citizens) offshore at an alarming rate. So, instead of changing the tax system that is causing the problem, they try to punish offshore companies, who don't suffer under that onerous worldwide taxation burden, for being able to sell their products for less than the US companies. What's wrong with this picture?
Let's see.
Sounds like a sly scheme to apply the US worldwide tax to foreign owned corporations, as well as US corporations. Is it any wonder why the rest of the developed world is upset?
Of course, this isn't the first time that the US government has ignored foreign sovereignty and attempted to levy taxes on foreign entities. In 1996, Section 877 of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was passed by Congress and signed into law by klinton, claimed the right of the US to tax former US citizens for 10 years after they had renounced their US citizenship and were taxpaying citizens of another country.
If the US government were to go to a National Retail Sales Tax, it would not only keep US companies in the US, but would attract major investment in the US, by foreign companies, without attacking those foreign companies and render such sovereignty ignoring laws as HIPAA Sec. 877 meaningless. It seems like such a simple solution, except for one thing. The adoption of a NRST would mean a significant loss in the massive amount power over the taxpayers, that an income based tax gives our lawmakers, so you can expect our power-crazed lawmakers (on both sides of the aisle) to fight it all the way.
However, until that happens, we can expect even more of these oversteps by Dubya and Congress and to see the flow of expatriation of US companies and wealthy citizens to increase to a rush for cover by those companies and citizens, that will decimate our tax base, investment base and job market. But, why should our lawmakers care? They've got their power.
By eliminating the income tax, our exports would be sold at about 23% less overseas
By implementing a national retail sales tax, imports would have a 23% tax slapped on them at sale.
Not only that, but the NRST would not violate any existing treaty and that possibility has a lot of other more socialist countries quaking in their shoes.
As if these countries didn't subsidize these exporters.
Yep. They sure do subsidize their companies - at least, in comparison to the US. They do it by not taxing the offshore income of their companies, as does the US. It's not foreign government subsidies that is the problem. It's our worldwide taxation.
If we were at war, our enemies would send boats to blockade our ports.
Today, we send our own boats to blockade our ports from evil products such as sugar which we prefer to make at 3X the cost from beets or to idiotically grow in the Everglades.
Your celebrated trade war means doing to ourselves what our enemies would do to us in a time of war.
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