[Willie Green]

The founders didn't think so. They banned direct taxation on people.

They also preferred the tariff, rather than the excise tax, as the least intrusive mode of taxation.
Furthermore, the first excise tax they attempted to impose (on whiskey) led to open rebellion among the very patriots who shed their blood to win our Independence.

[Protagoras]

Thanks for the history lesson, but those things are well known.

So are you ready to advocate discarding the income tax? In any form? Flat or graduated?

As for tarriffs, it's always easier to tax people other than those who can vote.

[ancient_geezer]

They also preferred the tariff, rather than the excise tax, as the least intrusive mode of taxation.

As well as hidden from view of the electorate so it could be raised without accountability. The people still paid the tax as became embedded within the price they paid for their goods.

Just what rate do you figure such a tariff to replace income and payroll taxes should be?

Today the balance of imports to domestic business is

2001 imports goods & services = 1,167.2 + 215.8 = $1,183.0 billions

2001 domestic goods and services = 8,416.1billions

The extreme reverse of the conditions that existed at the beginning years of this nation.

Figuring that collections of taxes from citizens through tariffs on imports can be the backbone of federal revenues today is nothing but a pipedream.

[yoswif]

For someone who seems so concerned about American manufacturing workers losing there jobs to foreign competition, I find it truely shocking that you would oppose tax reform that encourages retailers to stock their shelves with American made products instead of foreign made products. If the tax and tax compliance cost is removed from the wholesale price of American manufactured products, retailers could post lower shelf prices and get higher profit margins on American made products than foreign made products of similar quality. This would put American factories back in production and give American factory workers a competitive edge in export markets. Of course, loyal supporters of the IRS and our current tax code will never support worker friendly tax reform as long as they can gloat over another factory closure.