Replies

...NST proposals...

I am not a fan of the NST, NRST, or whatever they choose to call themselves now. It is already riddled with exceptions and loopholes and exemptions and it isn't even a law yet.

I oppose the current system because it is too high and is full of exemptions and complications. It allows the feds to delve into the personal lives of Americans.

The flat income tax would be more of the same, although at a lower tax rate.

What would I like then? How about a 10% federal retail sales tax on all goods? No loopholes. No exceptions. No exemptions. If you have a business license and you sell tangible goods, you will be taxed. Period. Write it into a Constitutional Amendment that way.

Yes, that means to some extent there will be natural VAT. You can't have simple and no VAT. Close all the loopholes and let people live with it. Once there are no income taxes, corporate taxes, or payroll taxes people will grow to like it.

Why not have a tax on services? Services are intangible. They can't be physically touched. Taxing them would only create a huge black market. You can easily see if someone has sold a thousand radios. It's easy to hide a thousand haircuts.

The basic problem I see with the NST is that it totally depends on retail sales or the like. Can we all agree that we need some minimal government (defense, at the very least)? If so, then we should have a minimal amount of tax that we always have to come up with--and I propose that it be 10%, regardless of what is happening within the country.

Well, it's been fun, folks, but I've been at this for three hours and have to get on with life for a while. That said, please try to keep the thread going and try to get others involved. An remember to send in those tax booklets or newspaper sections to your state's senior senator or toe Bill Thomas, the House Ways and Means Committed Chairman. I will check back in in a few hours to see where things are.

God bless.