Posted on 08/01/2004 6:08:53 PM PDT by NeoCaveman
A domestic centerpiece of the Bush/GOP agenda for a second Bush term is getting rid of the Internal Revenue Service, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
The Speaker of the House will push for replacing the nation's current tax system with a national sales tax or a value added tax, Hill sources tell DRUDGE.
"People ask me if I’m really calling for the elimination of the IRS, and I say I think that’s a great thing to do for future generations of Americans," Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert explains in his new book, to be released on Wednesday.
"Pushing reform legislation will be difficult. Change of any sort seldom comes easy. But these changes are critical to our economic vitality and our economic security abroad," Hastert declares in SPEAKER: LESSONS FROM FORTY YEARS IN COACHING AND POLITICS.
"“If you own property, stock, or, say, one hundred acres of farmland and tax time is approaching, you don’t want to make a mistake, so you’re almost obliged to go to a certified public accountant, tax preparer, or tax attorney to help you file a correct return. That costs a lot of money. Now multiply the amount you have to pay by the total number of people who are in the same boat. You can’t. No one can because precise numbers don’t exist. But we can stipulate that we’re talking about a huge amount. Now consider that a flat tax, national sales tax, or VAT would not only eliminate the need to do this, it could also eliminate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) itself and make the process of paying taxes much easier."
"By adopting a VAT, sales tax, or some other alternative, we could begin to change productivity. If you can do that, you can change gross national product and start growing the economy. You could double the economy over the next fifteen years. All of a sudden, the problem of what future generations owe in Social Security and Medicare won’t be so daunting anymore. The answer is to grow the economy, and the key to doing that is making sure we have a tax system that attracts capital and builds incentives to keep it here instead of forcing it out to other nations."
And if you are paying 13% in FIT, well...you must be rich.
Or something.
I hadn't considered that (probably because we don't have much savings....)
Anyone else care to touch this issue?
VERY well put!
I've seen you post on this subject for several years.
Not once have I seen you post facts.
Just criticisms and false assertions.
You've got nothing positive to add.
Here's hoping folks! I wanna see the IRS disappear as much as anyone. I would love to see President Bush say as much during his re-election campaign, even during the convention.
I'm trying to find reassurance that I won't be faced with the same bureaucratic nonsense I'm facing now with the State of Texas.
I gave up a long time ago of trying to keep track of all the payments.
I let my CPA make my payments which means he can draw from my corporate account, which I don't like.
In other words, how is this going to impact the small business man?
Please excuse me if this has already been posted. I'm at work, and I don't have time to research the information.
Taxman, I had a retired insurance investigator examine the files I put together on the CHIEF's death.
It was her professional opinion that this case has been "cold cased".
That's the reason I can get no information when I call. They no longer have it active.
Short of hiring a private investigator (and we've already been down this road !) I don't know what else to do.
I have a theory, but that and fifty cents will buy a cup of coffee.
RIP, CHIEF. We miss you.
Never say never, but I doubt it is likely. I had one immediate thought when I read your post: W wants to pick a fight with lawyers. Tax lawyers are good - since the common folk don't have one. Trail lawyers like John Edwards are hated by many Americans - seen as ambulance chasers. There are values, principles, and taxes involved - all in one issue. It might not happen, but it could do in Edwards and anyone else that has made their millions by suing "evil" corporations.
Fair Tax bump.
H.R. 25, the FairTax act (A national retail sales tax) restricts government spending by making the government pay the sales tax too.Why do you keep saying this when you been shown it's not true. For every dollar the government pays in taxes they get that same dollar back in revenues. You are just changing the expediture/revenue scale. Where's the disincentive to keep spending?
That should get about 99% of the undecided and 50% of the democrats! What a great idea.Yeah, they will be real excited until they here they will be paying a 30% national sales tax on all their purchases (in addition to state sales taxes). The Republicans better not provide too many details before the election, otherwise they will lose. Bigtime.
LOL! So much lack of reasoning in one sentence...buy a clue.
Amen.
The level of the sales tax rate is not a commentary on this form of taxation. It is a direct commentary on the level of spending by government.
Under the status quo, which you support, the vast bulk of our tax load is HIDDEN. Under the FairTax, 100% of taxation would be VISIBLE.
The divide and conquer tactics of politicians and the social engineers will come to an end under the NRST.
All Americans will be united in one interest: lowering the rate. What is the only way to lower the rate? Reduce spending.
It's simple. It's fair. It's visible.
It's the only way to go.
Don't even bother to respond to me unless it is on substance, or if you have a better positive alternative.
The critics of the FairTax have one distinctive characteristic: No positive solution of their own.
I don't believe the Constitution allows national referendums. However, the Constitution DOES allow for citizens to form a Constitutional Convention, if 2/3 of the state legislatures pass a bill calling for one. Once the Convention convenes, an amendment can be proposed to eliminate the income tax.
But this would take a significant grassroots effort the likes of which has never been seen before, and would be pre-empted by Congress. A Constitutional Convention is extremely dangerous, because theoretically, you can scrap the entire Constitution and create a new one. Congress definitely does not want that.
If you have a business, you still have to do the bookkeeping to keep track of profit/loss. If you have a checking account, again, you need to keep track of your balance, otherwise you will be writing bad checks. Sorry pal, bookkeeping is here to stay. :)
Since you feel very strongly about this, explain exactly why VAT is bad for us...
Sorry to interject, but I can't help myself.
The answer to your question is simple:
VATs are HIDDEN.
Hidden taxes are prone to political manipulations and hiding the true cost of goernment from the citizenry.
If Hastert wants to promote a VAT, I will oppose him. If he wants the FairTax, he will have my undying and active support.
"It's the largest entitlement program in the history of this country."
That's a pretty bombastic statement. I assume that you have data to back up that assertion, right?
In point of fact, it is probably less than the current Earned Income Tax Credit, as far as the subsidy goes.
Are you REALLY that concerned about people who profit from it without spending a penny in taxes? That would include people who buy no groceries, pay no utility bills, no gas for their cars, etc. Is that your real concern or are you just terrified that this proposal is gathering momentum? If so, surely you can think of a more legitimate concern.
I was just rcalling back to the days when the CHIEF negotiator was on FR and the long spread out debates we had about every subject in the world.
He sure knocked my blinders in the ditch, that son of a b**** made me see how a lot of world actually functions with the corruption and deals were already worked out in the backrooms before the public debates came out to the sheeple.
I sure do miss him!
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