Posted on 05/12/2005 7:46:54 PM PDT by Your Nightmare
Members of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform on May 11 expressed concerns over the FairTax national retail sales tax, a plan that has emerged as an alternative with a major grass-roots push.
Panel chair Connie Mack, vice chair John B. Breaux, and other members worried the plan would be difficult to enforce, would be regressive, and would require a high rate in order to take in enough money to fund the government.
Breaux raised concerns that the proposed 23 percent (tax-inclusive) rate would not be sufficient to raise the revenue necessary to fund the government. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that it would take as much as a 57 percent (tax-exclusive) rate to be revenue-neutral. Further, Breaux said he thought exemptions that would be carved out to make the sales tax progressive would also complicate it.
Mack, who raised concerns similar to his fellow panelists', said he was "intrigued" by the plan. "But if it's such a great idea, why haven't other political entities around the world pursued it?" he asked.
Americans for Fair Taxation Executive Director Tom Wright emphasized that the plan emerged after "thorough academic research" and "thorough polling" The strong grass-roots push has resulted in some of the group's 600,000 members appearing at each of the panel's hearings and has inspired a large comment-writing campaign to the panel in support of the plan.
Sales tax advocates were among the 20 witnesses who gathered before the panel for a full day of testimony on tax reform proposals. Although the group has held several other hearings in Washington and around the country, the May 11 meeting was its first hearing on specific reform plans since Bush appointed the panel in January. The panel has been charged with identifying tax reform proposals that are progressive, encourage charitable giving and home purchases, and are revenue-neutral. The proposals are due by July 31.
Among the tax replacement and reform plans presented to the panel were the value added tax, consumption-based tax, and the flat tax, as well as proposals that would use the current income tax as the foundation.
Witnesses generally claimed that theirs was the fairest, simplest, most flexible, most transparent revenue-neutral proposal that would improve economic growth and savings while meeting the president's criteria of encouraging charitable giving and home buying. Witnesses presenting consumption-based plans praised their overhaul as taking millions of low-income taxpayers off the rolls, being easy to transition to on a worldwide basis, and including safeguards to prevent new loopholes that would result in increased complexity down the road.
Tax reform panel members, who agree the current tax system needs to be fixed, grilled witnesses without revealing whether they will ultimately endorse a consumption- or income-based tax or a different mixture of the two.
Fair Taxers really overblow the difference between them and a VAT. Both are really close cousins.
You are confusing general taxation, business license fees and income taxation. Only Factors of Production have a cost to a business. But you are claiming IT is a tax on external economies, general social conditions, etc. If that were true there would be no reason to be opposed to it since we do live in a stable society with stable money and the protection of law.
On the other hand I see it as more of a tool to redistribute income which is not easily done via the other taxes.
And you are NOT "paying for an opportunity to earn an income" anyway that is a licensing fee or a business permit fee. There is NO tax unless a PROFIT is earned thus the IT has nothing to do with "opportunity."
So someone else took over your name and wrote those remarks disparaging the theories economists have developed over the years?
FTers haven't even comprehended the basics of price theory and their posts show a great lack of understanding of economics and finance. Even the most fundamental aspects of economic life such as revenues, profits, after-tax income, and costs have no role in their thinking. Even the idea of a Factor of Production has some sputtering helplessly.
Obviously if people justshut... I would have no one to talk to :^( Hence it is ironic.
Yeah us types who actually have some knowledge and training in economics are "another matter entirely" since we are not clueless about these issues and can differentiate between reality and rhetoric, and probable results and wishful thinking.
Yep.
Can you believe this?
YOur inability to understand even the most basic elements of microeconomics does not make them false.
Sounds like something straight out of the Patrice Lamumba School of Economics to me!
Nope! Nor did I disparage them! I said, and stand by, that the VAST majority does not CARE anything about such theories. But you already KNEW that didn't you?
It is lack of awareness of theory and inability to understand it which is important not lack of caring which is essentially meaningless. No one who lacks understanding of economics can understand taxation.
Well it is the truth. I don't factor in my income tax into my prices because it is impossible to know ahead of time. I work to maximize profits by offering products at a competitive price while keeping my costs down. Maximizing profits will cause my income taxes to go up, but I do not charge my customers more because I am now making more money.
Yeah! I know! The great unwashed is just plain STUPID and cannot understand anything without the aid of some elitist snob to explain it to them! That is, in fact, what has brought us to the point at which we find ourselves today!
Even the kid down on the corner, who has never seen an economics text book, knows that in order for him to make a profit he MUST sell his lemonade!
Ridiculous. Even if you don't explicitly factor those taxes in, you have to charge enough so that your after-tax profits are enough to justify the investment of time and money into your business. Just because you're not doing it consciously doesn't mean you're not doing it.
Ignorance is not stupidity. People are ignorant of things they have not studied or learned. I am ignorant of the techniques necessary to fix my LeSabre but far from stupid.
Economics is (like statistics) one of the most difficult courses of study outside of the physical sciences. And it is not called the "dismal science" for nothing.
Ignorance of economic principles allows the politicians to claim to be "soaking the rich" with their tax policies and to pass laws which are certain to fail. Knowledge of economics has not gotten us into the situation we are in. You have it assbackwards.
Another who doesn't understand price theory shows up.
Another who doesn't understand price theory shows up.None of them seem to. How else could you believe that producer prices would drop 20-30% while everyone gets a 20-30% increase in take-home pay? Pure fantasy born of ignorance.
Yep! Only YOU and your Kenesian cronies have the ability to understand anything right?
Igonrance is correctable STUPID is forever!
Theory, schmeory. Tell me what will happen if his business does not clear enough after-tax profits to justify the investment of time and/or money. (Hint: unless it's a "vanity" business or hobby, the business will fold.)
This is exactly the point I made earlier, and he said, well, not all business fits into the Theory of Perfect Competition so I guess it's possible for you...
Of course I'm no different than the overwhelming majority of other small businesses in that respect.
But just above he said, get this, that income taxes are not a cost, do not affect prices, and for these reasons the income tax is not a disadvatage to our exports...
lol
Theory, schmeory. Tell me what will happen if his business does not clear enough after-tax profits to justify the investment of time and/or money. (Hint: unless it's a "vanity" business or hobby, the business will fold.)The business will fold because it's not making enough profits!?! More FairTax Economics...
Get back to me when you look up the phrase "time value of money".
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