It's their way of having control over us !!
Posted on 12/01/2004 8:25:22 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
...President Bush and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (search) have both said the idea of a national sales tax deserves a serious look. For many, the idea of a world without the Internal Revenue Service is very seductive.
"We spend about $400 billion a year complying with the tax code. We spend $200 billion a year just filling out IRS paperwork," said Rep. John Linder (search) , R-Ga., who has proposed a bill that would create a national sales tax.
Proponents have spent millions on research and have concluded that a national sales tax can replace the income tax, payroll tax, estate tax and corporate tax. Advocates say the new tax would lower the cost of manufacturing and job creation and attract foreign investments, among other things.
"If we were to get rid of the sales or the income tax and the payroll tax and all compliance costs, we would be so ferociously competitive in a world economy that corporate America would not be competed with unless foreign corporations started building their plants in America," Linder said.
Proponents seek a 23-cent national sales tax on all retail goods, everything from groceries to clothes, cars to electronics. Everyone would pay the same rate, which critics argue is part of the problem.
"If you consume $40,000 a year and you make $50,000 a year, would you feel it is fair if a guy who made a half a million dollars a year but spent $40,000 a year paid the same tax you do? I think you wouldn't feel it's fair," said Buck Chapoton, former assistant treasury secretary.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I am sorry but you are wrong Sir. I am not going to waste further time on this.
LOL! What a ridiculous answer! You invest your money Chief. You do not let it sit in a bank account, and do nothing. Moreover, as an investor you do not have to worry about being punished for investing your money (Capital Gains).Invest it all you want, if you don't spend it, it has no value. The only value in money is that you can buy things with it.
It's their way of having control over us !!
There is a Black Market now. That is a moot point. There will always be one.
People would have a lot more money, and prices would come down for companies to compete since they would not have a corporate tax.What makes you think corporatation pass their taxes on to consumers through higher prices? Most economists don't believe this. They believe that the corporate tax is paid by labor through lower wages and investors through a lower return. What insight do you have that they don't?
There is a Black Market now. That is a moot point. There will always be one.No chance it might grow?
It is a replacement to the status quo. Its not a tax on top of taxes. You really think Bush is just going to raise the taxes for everyone by 23% on top of all the other taxes we already pay. It would be political suicide not only for him but the party. You can rest assure that will not happen. Goodness people lets use our brains here!
Critics contend that the sales tax would have to be higher than advocates advertise."It would require at least a 30 percent rate, that's a very high rate and may create tax evasion on its own," said Chris Edwards, a tax analyst with the Cato Institute. "The highest state sales tax we've got right now is only 11 percent. So there's a great unknown here, would the government be able to actually collect a 30-percent sales tax?"
Sales tax backers say their tax is relatively easy to collect — forty-five states already do it — and the tax would collect revenue from the vast, underground economy.
"About a trillion dollars now is in the underground economy, untaxed. That's just three items — pornography, illicit drugs and illegal labor. We wouldn't make them more legal if we had a sales tax, but what we would do is tax them when they spent it for personal consumption," Linder said.
Critics say two categories of Americans won't like the sales tax: millions who don't pay federal income taxes and workers about to retire who could see their nest eggs devoured by a large and unexpected sales tax.
Pinging to a few others .....
It has been introduced. Don't know the number. But a new Congress is sworn in next January. So the bill would have to be reintroduced, and it would get a new number.
I second your bump. The primary reason I have been a life-long Republican is the issue of taxes. Republicans at least make an attempt to hold the line on taxes. And now, at long last, we might finally see a genuine overhaul of our horrible federal tax system.
Thank you for your answers. The only answer I'm not understanding is for #2. Perhaps I should be more specific in my question. Under the current system my income is taxed. I take part of this taxed income and save it. Now lets say we go to the NRST system. After this I decide to spend some of the saved money. Would I not be paying taxes on this money again?
I don't think they are taking 23% of my income under the current system. I don't think I would be willing to pay more than a few percentage points more than I am now just for the ease and simplicity it would bring. 23% just sounds high. Maybe I'm wrong.
No federal tax witholding from your paycheck. You've got more money in your pocket and your gardener is paying federal taxes that he wasn't paying before. All of those people who work for cash will have to ante up when they go to Walmart. Probably a better deal for all of us in the long run.
Would I not be paying taxes on this money again?Yes, you would.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.