CAVUTO REPORTS THAT BUSH CONSIDERING SCRAPPING THE IRS CODE!!!

Fox News Channel | November 6, 2002 | n/a

[Tree of Liberty]

Neil Cavuto just interviewed Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., the director of the OMB, and Neil let it be known that he's hearing rumblings that Pres. Bush is considering a total re-write of the tax code and that SecTreas O'Neill is strongly pushing a national retail sales tax!

[Naspino]

A benefit of a national sales tax -- illegals cannot get away with profiting from our country and not contributing!

We'll make more money off of tourism and I suspect we have the largest tourism industry in the world.

We could probably get around the 16th amendment by removing funding from the IRS -- thats how they kill bills and programs.

[SamAdams76]

Just goes to show you what a shrewd operator this president of ours is. Guess who is going to get credit for whatever happens over the next two years? The GOP Congress, of course! Over the next two years, our heads will be spinning with all the things that happen with this Congress. And two years from now, people will be saying "Remember the days of the gridlocked, do-nothing Democrat ruled Senate?"

If Bush is able to get this kind of stuff through the GOP Congress, we could be looking at a GOP super-majority by 2004 or 2006.

[SamAdams76]

Just goes to show you what a shrewd operator this president of ours is. Guess who is going to get credit for whatever happens over the next two years? The GOP Congress, of course! Over the next two years, our heads will be spinning with all the things that happen with this Congress. And two years from now, people will be saying "Remember the days of the gridlocked, do-nothing Democrat ruled Senate?"

If Bush is able to get this kind of stuff through the GOP Congress, we could be looking at a GOP super-majority by 2004 or 2006.

[dano1]

Exit148 was talking about 'the minority', i.e., the congressional dim's.

Whoops, sorry. I guess I should read before I reply.

[Calamari]

He should get a mountain all to himself!

[EarlyBird]

Whoa, pardner! Don't expect this until the SECOND Bush term.

Reading between the lines of Daniel's comments, and factoring in the new Pubbies-are-now-responsible-for-everything political environment, this risky move cannot be made until the Pubbies win again in 2004 (which we will, of course), but ultimately, it's clear the Bush team is for it.

[Tree of Liberty]

I know, but now that it can really happen makes me want to dance a jig.

[Lizavetta]

I'm having a really really really really really hard time believing that a politician, ANY politician, would do something that would IN REALITY reduce the amount of money they get from the taxpayer.

As Ron Paul says, there's no such thing as a tax cut UNLESS THERE'S A CORRESPONDING CUT IN SPENDING. It simply cannot be. If there's a tax cut and no corresponding drop in spending, they'll raise a zillion other current taxes in tiny increments to make up the difference.

[mil-vet]

A national sales tax will be as bad or worse, in terms of lost income, as the IRS - what we need is a flat tax of no more than 10% (if 10% is good enough for God, then it should be enough for the freakin' gov't)!!

[Dead Dog]

My understanding is that the NRST does not tax a product until it is retailed to the public. All process such as shipping, production, and the purchasing of materials and components are untaxed. This is why they claim a 20% reduction in the cost of goods.

The income tax, however, does tax every step in production and is in a sense similar to the VAT.

[Lopeover]

WOW WEEEEEE! If President Bush accomplishes this he will be the Greatest President EVER!

[rogerthedodger]

They won't like it because they will perceive (rightly or wrongly) that they, who are disproportionately at the lower end of the economic spectrum, will pay a larger proportion of their income to a consumption tax than will wealthier whites. however, a rebate to the poor will alleviate this perception. also, they might look down the road eventually and see the prospect of a 'desert bloom' when because of the NRST, people SAVE instead of sending money to the IRS .

[Ditto]

NOT a "sales tax" try 17% or more on EVERY transaction from raw materials to consumer...

WRONG. Read the bill. It is only on the final retail sale. IT IS NOT A VAT! The current corporate income tax operates like a VAT because each supplier in the chain must include the cost of taxes in the price of his product. The net effect is a hidden income tax of 20-30 percent in the cost of every American made product we buy.

BTW --- The NRST will drive the EURO wennies crazy because US products made for export will be 20-30% cheeper than they are now.

[Tree of Liberty]

If Bush does this now, it will INSURE a second term and an even greater majority in congress.

[tom paine 2]

But the people want it and I think George will go over the heads of the Congress and appeal directly to us little people.

[knak]

OK, what will the stock markets do with this news?

[Brookhaven]

You would have to own 67 Senate seats and 280 House seats to pull this off

Chambliss (who just won in GA) favors a NRST. Cleland tried to use it against him in the debate. Instead of backing down, he came out pretty focefully in support of scraping the tax code and replacing it with either a flat tax or NRST. He mad it very clear though, that his first choice was a NRST. Didn't hurt him at all.

People know the current tax code is a mess. If the Republicans play this that the tax code needs to be scraped and replaced with a simpler system, the could have a winner. That would put the Dems in the position of defending the current code mess.

[Dems_R_Losers]

The one downside is that eliminating the income tax will immediately devalue all residential real estate by about 20 percent. That's fine if your loan to value ratio is below 80 percent, but lots of people would end up with mortgages for more than their houses are worth. Of course, we have survived a bigger adjustment to investment portfolios in the last year, so we would survive an adjustment in real estate too. But the real estate lobby will scream bloody murder.

[Jim Robinson]

"A "national retail sales tax" is not constitutional"

Huh? I believe a sales tax is an excise tax:

Section. 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

[Naspino]

would do something that would IN REALITY reduce the amount of money they get from the taxpayer.

I'm not so sure that is accurate. It would eliminate the loop holes for illegals (what 9 or so million of them) and it would open up a new source from tourism. Most of the rich people (leftists) avoid income taxes all together. Question is -- will the tax apply to purchases made from abroad? We are the largest exporter in the world of consumer goods. This could actually be a tax on the world.