Posted on 02/22/2005 12:53:10 PM PST by Radix
PRAGUE -- Flat-tax fever is sweeping Central and Eastern Europe.
As the Bush administration looks abroad to places like Chile for new models to revamp Social Security, many former Soviet bloc countries are adopting an idea for income tax reform that American conservatives have pushed since the Reagan era, but which has never been attempted in the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Bump for the New Europe!!!!
Ping
Eastern Europe- the part that "got" Reagan better than our own left coast.
Plus they make better beer over there.
Article states Serbia went to Flat Tax two years ago. Anyone know precisely what rate they chose?
Serbia has 14% tax.
Our economy would be incredible if we could get Fair Tax implemented.
> ... many former Soviet bloc countries are adopting an idea ...
Old Europe was considering it too, but they balked when
they found out that they couldn't set the rate higher
than 100%.
LET'S GO FAIR TAX! LET'S GO!
Thank you.
I hope new PO-PIS government will take real responsibility for Poland's future and face burden of introducing flat tax rates and privatizing health sector.
Some of these stories are deceptive because they only include the "income tax" portion of the tax structure. There was a story last year about Russia's 13% flat income tax rate, and I was surprised to learn that the tax rates on income in Russia are actually much higher than that. The "social insurance taxes," which are the equivalent of our FICA and Medicare payroll deductions, were so high in Russia that even with a 13% flat "income tax" rate there was an enormous underground economy that involved untaxed income. One of the standard means of circumventing these taxes was to have employees work for non-salary "income" like cars, apartments, etc.
Poland already has the flat 19% corporate income tax. It's been here since 2003, and it was implemented in Poland by a left-wing government (what a paradox!). Only personal income taxes are progressive (18-40%).
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