Posted on 05/11/2007 5:30:56 AM PDT by Dick Bachert
I have a little scenario I would like to paint for those of you out there who just insist on finding something wrong with the FairTax. Admittedly, the FairTax isn't perfect. No tax plan is. How, after all, can you come up with a perfect way for a government to take its operating funds from its subjects? If you know an easier and more equitable way to do it, by all means, let me know!
I'm going to ask you to crank up your imagination for a moment here ... and by "you," I mean those of you who think that this FairTax thing is a bad idea and you're not prepared to come on board.
I want you to imagine a scenario. Don't worry about whether or not this scenario is possible .. Just accept it as I present it, and then consider the alternative picture I'm going to also present. Simple as that.
Let's imagine that the FairTax is the law. We've been operating under the FairTax since the day you drew your first paycheck. It's all you know. Here is your imaginarily "reality."
On every payday you get your complete paycheck. There are no deductions. If you earn $2,000 per week, you get a check for $4,000 every two weeks. You never have to save receipts or create any records pertaining to federal taxes. You can invest money without paying any taxes on it. You don't have to pay taxes on the money you earn through your investment portfolio. You pay no taxes on any money you put in your savings account. When you die you get to leave your entire estate, everything you own, to whomever you wish. The federal government will take no taxes from your estate. Your death is not a taxable event. When you go to the store to buy an item, and the price tag says $19.99, you will had a $20 bill to the cashier and get one penny back. The price tag is the price. There are four people in your household. You, your spouse and two rug rats. At the beginning of every month you get a check or a credit to your checking or charge card account in the amount of $506.00 to compensate you for the federal sales taxes that are included in the price of everything you buy; right up to the poverty level.
All in all .. not such a bad deal. You keep all of the money you earn and you get five hundred bucks a month from the feds. Plus .. you only pay taxes when you spend money.
Now .. .here comes some politician who has a grand scheme for a new tax system. He wants to explain it to you. Here's his great idea ..... give him a listen and tell us what you think.
The plan is simple. First the federal sales tax is going to be removed from the price of everything you buy. This will mean that everything will cost 23% less than it does now. But ... he's going to levy an income tax on every single individual and business who plays any role at all in bringing those products to the marketplace. These people and companies are all going to pass the cost of these taxes down the economic line to the final consumer of the products they manufacture. These taxes will end up embedded into the prices of products in our retail marketplace, bringing those prices right up to the current level. So .. no loss, no gain.
Next your political benefactor is going to take away your $500 per month prebate from the government. In its place he's going to tax every penny you earn. It doesn't matter where the money comes from. Your salary, your investment income, winnings at the track ... whatever you earn and however you earn it, it's going to be taxed.
Wait! He's not through. He's also going to tax your wages for Social Security and Medicare. He's going to try to soften the blow by telling you that your employer is going to match the taxes he takes out of your paycheck, but you're employer has made it clear that this money is all going to come out of the money he has budgeted to hire you. You'll probably lose out on your next raise while the boss his accounting in order.
There are some more nifty ideas in your congressman's tax reform plan. When you die your family is going to have to file a complicated estate tax return. A huge amount of the wealth you have managed to build during your life is going to be sent to the government. Your survivors may well have to sell the family business in order to come up with the money to pay for these death taxes.
One more thing .. you're going to have to keep records of all of your financial transactions. Every year you're going to have to spend no less than about 30 hours or spend hundreds of dollars to hire someone to fill out tax forms for you. If mistakes are made you will be hit with a huge penalty and interest. Oh .. and the government is going to have access to all of your financial records to make sure that you are paying everything you "owe."
The question, of course, is why does this politician want to change the tax system in this way? Power, that's why. They want to be able to enact little changes to the tax code that will benefit certain constituents ... which constituents will then benefit the politicians -- with money or with votes. Under the FairTax system these politicians have no power to favor one group of voters over another for the benefit of votes. The new system would give them that power.
Your choice, my friends. If we had the FairTax now ... would you be willing to make the switch?
And continue to repeat that lie. You know the money has to come from somewhere. At least most of the supporters have come around to admit the truth.
if you think for one minute that the politicians are gonna let you keep any more of your money than right now, then I have a bridge in NYC to sell you cheap.
if any person ends up paying LESS than they do right now, spending will increasse until that person is paying the same. those who pay more will still pay more - that way Big GOvernment gets more money from everybody fo rless perceived ‘pain’.
until governmetn spends less, then whatever means of taxation will merely end up costing more.
and those who say that elimination of the IRS will result in saving money - remember how much taxes went down with reduced military spending after the collapse of the USSR. they’ll regard that money as ‘found’ money and create more spending programs to absorb it.
the tax system is less a problem that SPENDING.
But the current tax system is used to disguise the cost of that spending, by hiding it as a non-itemized VAT within the prices of goods and services. Making the true burden of taxes visible will result in more public pressure to lower them.
Yes we are. Try driving without getting a license. Not paying your taxes. Or owning a firearm they want to ban.
adn the ‘fair tax’, whilst killing the economy won’t? It’s rearranging the deck chairs onthe Titanic.
instead of finding ‘painless’ ways for the government to take ever increasing amounts of money from wageearners, why not focus on where the problem lies - SPENDING???
don’t beleive that canard about ‘being aware of how much the government takes will create a firestorm of protest’. especially when you’re telling me out of the other side of your mouth that I’ll be able to pay less.
to quote Judge Judy “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining”.
Well, you may be, but I’m not. I’m a sovereign citizen of the United States, under God.
You’ll never get spending under control until you get it out in the open where everybody can see it.
The only way to do that is through the FairTax. The needed rate to replace all current revenue will be a fully understood commentary on spending.
The current system is not only hidden, it divides Americans. It purposefully creates a division of self-interest among the people.
The FairTax would bring the whole mess out in the open, and place us all in the same position of self-interest: That of getting spending under control and thereby bringing down the tax rate.
The FedGov, and most State govs, are off the hook. We aren't a "Republic" any more. Admitting we have a problem is the beginning of figuring out how to fix it.
If by that you mean that we admit that the corporate income tax in this country functions as a subtraction method VAT and is collected from EVERY set of hands that touch EVERY product manufactured in this country and hidden in the final consumer price of those products then you are correct! I always have freely admitted that. Pleas find a copy of Dr. James L. Payne's Costly Returns - The Burdens of the U.S. Tax System and educate yourself on the matter.
I understand what you’re saying.
But, I also think it is important for us to know who we really are, and to stand that ground.
Heeeeee’s baaacckkk!
RobFromGa I mean.
(Hey, Rob, how’s that IRS gig working out? You’re in what? year 5?)
You're the one who has already pointed out that the same taxes would be taken out under the FairTax as under the income tax. How would that "kill the economy" when the income tax, with all of its disincentives to productive, hasn't managed to do it?
Saying that a sales tax will affect what people choose to buy is like saying that the income tax affects what people choose to earn.
“Nope, don’t want to earn more money, because I’ll be taxed more on it.”
Typical response from a FairTax supporter. Ad hominem attack based on totally faulty reasoning that since one doesn't agree with the Holy Mantra of the Keepers of the FairTax scrolls, one must be an IRS employee. Have another cookie.
Heeeeee’s baaacckkk!
Pssst! I never left but apparently a lot of FairTaxers have lost interest.
??? No, where did you get that. I was talking about the fairytale that you guys like to spin. The old warn out lie that you can keep all your paycheck and prices will come down. You know the one that Boortz finally admitted to and had to rewrite his book. In your warped mind that was just me lying.
When he said ‘he’s back’ someone else came to mind. But apparently he is now off the fairtax payroll.
The Free Lunch Fairytale is a staple at every FairTax gathering. They even have a guy that dresses up like Santa and promises all the gathered disgruntled that they will get “More Christmas”!
I think it is troubling that so many people are naive enough to think that this magic tax plan can possibly work as advertised.
I hope everyone reads the links provided and sees how hollow the reasoning of the pro-FairTaxers is. The FairTax would be a disaster and we would soon have both the exorbitant sales tax plus an income tax on the productive.
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