This guy is displaying his economic ignorance. If I buy a bottle of Coke for $1 and the government immediately extracts 23% in “sales tax”, that is the same as an income tax. The retailer, bottler, sugar cane farmer, shareholders in Coca-Cola, etc are paid in after-tax dollars! The amount of the tax doesn’t even flow through the producers’ checking accounts since the government gets it so early. To some, this is a good thing. To the economic literate, the panacea of the sales tax is smoke and mirrors.
This guy is displaying his sweetening ignorance. Coke is sweetened with corn sugars in the US, not cane.
I don't understand exactly why this is a bad idea. But I'm not very economically literate. So in laymen's terms please explain, if it is smoke and mirrors, and there really isn't any difference, does it not still simplify the process? I mean...I wouldn't have to fill out any forms, and the IRS wouldn't have to cut checks, audit forms, etc. Wouldn't this eliminate a lot of paper work?
False conclusion: you have the option of not buying the coke and, therefore, not paying the sales tax. Try not paying your income tax.
The retailer, bottler, sugar cane farmer, shareholders in Coca-Cola, etc are paid in after-tax dollars!
This assumes an income tax exists... the point was to get rid of it and all of the supporting documentation, etc. surrounding an "income" tax.
Another advantage is that *all* money is taxed at the same rate rather than just income. This invalidates tax shelter scams, social engineering via the tax codes by whomever is in office, tax credits that politicians write for themselves etc....
Basically, it's long overdue.
The benefits are too numerous to list but include
billions in paperwork savings related to tax filings
taxation of income earned through the black market via things like drug dealing
Better privacy for citizens who will no longer need to report every nickel they make every dollar they donate and every person that depends on them to a government beauracracy.
Errrrrrrrr! Incorrect Answer. Thank you for playing.
First, the government does not know how much you've earned to be able to buy that Coke.
Second, you voluntarily purchased the Coke and paid the tax. As you might understand, this is a far cry from forcing the taxes from your earnings at the point of a gun. Get it?
So in other words, you'd prefer to still give the government your personal and financial information and have them get a first crack at your paycheck.
Yeah...except if you decide you'd rather drink your tapwater at a nickel a gallon than buy that expensive Coke, you only pay a penny to the government.
That power to choose is kind of a big deal.
"If I buy a bottle of Coke for $1 and the government immediately extracts 23% in “sales tax”, that is the same as an income tax."
You obviously do not understand the fair tax(aka consumption tax). Your taxes are based on consumption. Therefore, the more you use, the more taxes you pay. The less you use the less taxes you pay. How is that a bad thing? BTW, the 23% tax is not the number. They are now looking at 19%. BTW, since Russia has gone to a fair tax, there tax revenues have increased. How do you not understand this?
"If I buy a bottle of Coke"
But we are not forced to buy coke.................
You are not seeing the big picture.
Whores buy Coca Cola.
Pimps buy Coca Cola.
Shady businesses buy Coca Cola.
All these scumbags would be paying tax under a national sales tax plan. Currently, whores, pimps, drug dealers and millions of shady businesses avoid income taxes in the underground economy.
Good and decent people pay taxes today in the current system--the scumbags of society do not pay taxes under the current system.
Under a national sales tax, everybody--including the scum of society--would pay a national sales tax. Hundreds of billions of dollars currently go uncollected from the underground economy.
Under a new national sales tax, good decent people would pay a fair share because they will not be pulling the cart for the scumbags of society who would be forced to pay their fair share also.
"If I buy a bottle of Coke for $1 and the government immediately extracts 23% in “sales tax”, that is the same as an income tax."
Except that everyone is subject to the tax. Thereby educating the public as to the cost of their demands of government. Without this the largesse will only grow, with this education the number of citizens screaming for less government intrusion in their lives will grow.