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Locked on 02/18/2008 10:17:33 AM PST by Religion Moderator, reason:
Childish behavior |
Posted on 02/16/2008 3:30:21 PM PST by xcamel
One solution to the nation's long-term fiscal problems that has gained support in recent years is the idea of replacing all federal taxes with a 23 percent national retail sales tax called the FairTax. Unfortunately, the administrative problems inherent in this proposal make it impossible to take seriously, says Bruce Bartlett, former deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the U.S. Treasury Department.
For example, under a FairTax scheme: A worker now netting $800 per week would immediately get a $200 raise and start taking home the full $1,000 gross wage that he is paid; instead of paying income and payroll taxes, workers would pay their taxes when they buy things.
The FairTax would impose a 23 percent tax on all goods and services (this is not really correct, but for now we'll accept it at face value for analytical purposes).
Whether he is better off or not depends on what his effective tax rate is: Assuming he spends all his income and no more than that, he will be no worse off if he now pays 23 percent of his income in taxes. That is, his effective tax rate is 23 percent; in this case, the FairTax is a wash, the worker is no better off or worse off in terms of taxes than he is now.
But what if the worker is now paying less than 23 percent of his income in federal taxes? In this case, he is clearly worse off, says Bartlett: The prices of the things he buys will rise by more than his income rises from the elimination of income and payroll taxes. Conversely, if one is wealthy and in a tax bracket above 23 percent, that person would be much better off. His income and payroll taxes would fall by much more than the prices of goods and services he consumes would rise.
Source: Bruce Bartlett, "Why the FairTax Won't Work," Tax Notes, December 24, 2007.
For text:
With a pure fair or consumption tax the government loses the one thing it just can’t stand to lose...
Power...
Its that plain and simple...
Thats why we’ll never see it implemented...
That’s right.. You folks don’t believe in free speech, or dissenting opinions. What on earth was I thingking...
/hurl.
don’t believe so..you’d have to show me where you learned this..the tax is inclusive within the $, not added on..
What about my tax-paid life savings?
And you are fine with this? I thought Conservatives were for LESS government and LESS spending. Let me pay my share by ME deciding how I spend MY money!
I had to read your list very carefully... I think some of the ‘fair tax’ people actually believe those things
LOL. Well played.
Well, for one thing its not fair to the illegal aliens who have to pay taxes on everything they buy. So, the Democrats and Republicans who rule over us would never vote for it.
Nice strawman. Even if McCain is elected, he's not going to implement the FairTax or even reform the tax system. Hell he only came out with the same lame-old "keep Bush's tax cuts permanent" after getting heat from Romney.
The FairTax is a joke. Just implement a single 10% strict flat tax with no deductions or credits.
The Fair Tax will never work because the establishment will never allow it to be considered seriously.
Well I like it. If it’s too much I’ll cut back on spending.
Take something that now costs $1 - a quart of milk, for instance. With the "Fair Tax," it would then cost $1.30.
Almost any high school graduate would be able to tell you that the 30-cent tax constitutes 30% of the original price...
That the "Fair Tax" advocates express it otherwise is prima facie evidence they are liars and frauds, or fools.
No kidding. If people relly knew how much taxes they pay...
When you compare the Fair Tax proposal with today’s sales tax, it’s still 30% no matter how you present it. Fair Tax people will say that of every dollar you spend, $0.23 goes to taxes. True, but then $0.23 is 30% of $0.77 which would have been the cost of the item without the tax.
The bottom line is, today in Austin, Texas I pay 8.5% sales tax which is 8 1/2 cents for an item that costs $1. With the Fair Tax, I would be paying $0.30 instead. To people who have been dealing with sales tax all their lives, that’s called 30%, not 23%.
The Fair Tax people know that a 30%+ sales tax cannot be sold to the American public even if it means the abolition of the IRS, that’s why they call it a 23% rate.
Vote Obama.....he will take care of you.
Been awhile since you bought milk? :’)
That’s a tad backwards...
It’s:
“Take any item you’d be willing to pay $10 for, and under the FT, you’re only going to get $7.70 worth of that item”
Fair Tax ping!
wrong..if milk costs $1 now, it will cost $1 under the fair tax, only the tax is included in the $1..
that’s how I understand it..and I’ve read the book..can you show me where you learned it’s added on and from what source?
I’m not tryin to be a bugger here, just want to debate this and see where you are gettin ur facts..
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