Free Republic

U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., has proposed a plan for eliminating the multi-trillion-dollar national debt: Tax everything. Earlier this year, Fattah introduced H.R. 4646, the "Debt Free America Act," which would impose a massive new tax for a period of seven years, while the national debt is being paid off. And once the debt is paid, the bill would eliminate the individual income tax, supplanting it with the new, "transaction" tax instead. Specifically, H.R. 4646 would levy a 1-percent tax on every transaction of any kind that uses check, cash or credit cards (with a path in place for also...

As he scanned the cooler at a Grand Rapids store for a six pack, Jake Brenner had a three-word reaction to a proposed tax on beer. "That would suck," said Brenner, 27, of Grand Rapids, shopping at Martha's Vineyard, 200 Union Ave. NE. "It would be another slap in the face of the people. Beer is an affordable escape for the people. It sounds like a pretty poor idea." A state task force on child welfare is expected to recommend this week a 5-cent-per-bottle tax on beer as a means of paying for child welfare reforms. The current Michigan beer...

Is it possible to have a system of taxation which is simple, efficient, progressive, and revenue neutral replacing all those taxes listed above? As it turns out, Yes. By capitalizing on financial data processing technology, it is possible to create a tax code for the 21st century-- one that is astonishingly easy for all citizens to understand, that is easy to administer and to comply with because it eliminates the need to file tax or information returns. The system, developed by University of Wisconsin Professor of Economics Edgar L. Feige, is known as the APT or Automated Payments/Transaction Tax. You...