We've been working to get rid of the income tax in favor of a VAT or flat tax. Here's an opportunity to go ahead and do something along those lines with liberal support. I say call the bluff with a concrete proposal that makes the income tax unconstitutional and increases energy taxes to a revenue neutral level. Then watch the libs weave and dodge and turn on Gore themselves.
read the fine print
Wooden Apollo wvants to ditch the social security tax,
I agree. It's wrong to automatically dismiss this idea, since it clearly (from a classical economic perspective) makes more sense to tax undesirable externalities (such as pollution) than desirable activities (such as work). A tax of this sort could be harmful if it is extremely disproportionate to the damage the pollution does, but at some scale it is entirely reasonable.
I understand your sentiment, but it would devastate entire industries. I find it annoying that al Reuters goes along with the CO2 = pollution nonsense. It is telling the Sore Loserman acknowledges that payroll taxes result in less pay, and that energy taxes result in less energy. Seems like Republicans ought to be pointing out those admissions.
From what little is disclosed in the article, it doesn't appear to me that Gore is calling for the elimination of the income tax, or necessarily even eliminating withholding of income taxes. He appears to be using the Commie formulation of "payroll taxes", primarily meaning Social Security and perhaps Medicare. When the Bush income tax cuts were voted in, the Democrats complained because nothing was being done about "payroll taxes". So, most likely this is just another Communist lie masquerading as a phony tax cut proposal...
Me too.
What world have you been living in? Certainly, not the one that I have lived in for the past 60 years. You know...the one where taxes never go down and if they seemed to...they simply morphed into some other named vehicle that is still a tax.
Now, with that in mind, who do you think would pay for the "Gore Tax?" I bet you think that it would be those nasty old companies, don't you. Well, guess what? You're wrong...it's you and me, along with all others who consume the goods and services of America's industry.
Any time the tainted finger of government touches any industry or business, all market forces are destroyed and the business simply changes management from the private sector to the government sector.
Like paying more taxes and higher prices for everything you will purchase? Keep thinking that way.
To keep free, WE MUST ELIMINATE ALL BUT THE MOST BASIC TAXES needed to perform the basic functions of our original constitution.
I agree with you. In my perfect world, though, I wouldn't make the tradeoff revenue neutral. I'd cut government spending a great deal so the tax on fuels wouldn't be too high.
I would cut government spending by getting rid of blatantly uncostitutional government functions and then laying off the least productive 25 percent of government employees (for starters.) I work for the Feds. I know of what I speak.