Posted on 05/27/2009 2:33:22 PM PDT by Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!
Levy Viewed as Way to Reduce Deficits, Fund Health Reform
With budget deficits soaring and President Obama pushing a trillion-dollar-plus expansion of health coverage, some Washington policymakers are taking a fresh look at a money-making idea long considered politically taboo: a national sales tax.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
This might actually be a good thing if were coupled with an income tax reduction at the upper levels. Too many people in this country no longer pay taxes. I think taxes should be low, but also fair—I don’t think anyone should get a free ride.
Unfotunately, we will like get both income and sales tax increases.
Yup.
How could this be Constitutional?
Of course such questions never enter the mind of politicians and most judges these days....
“”I think a VAT and a high-end income tax have got to be on the table.”
My favorite quote. Believe it or not, “high-end” people (i.e., people with their butts in the air when they walk) already pay income tax, and they pay a h3ll of a lot more than the lower classes.
By the way, this only reinforces my decision to spend $7,000 in the past year to buy every non-perishable that I could think of (particularly light bulbs). And likely, I’ll be buying a new car soon...so Obama may get his VAT, but he’ll collect very little of it from me.
Please do not confuse a “value added tax”
with a “national sales tax”
they are completely different animals.
Oh really! What about after the tax hits? Will the country still be out of recession?
I wonder what the UAW will think about that.
The solution is the FairTax -— www.fairtax.org
There are bills pending in both the House and Senate aimed at eliminating the federal income tax and the IRS, replacing revenue with a national retail sales tax. This would be a tax on consumption, not production. Consumers could control the amount of taxes they pay by adjusting their spending habits. It would encourage savings and investment, and result in an unprecedented economic boom in the U.S. There are no loopholes, no tax returns for individuals or business. The sales tax would be collected by the States using their existing mechanism, and the States would then forward the federal portion to the U.S. Treasury.
The FairTax means no federal withholding tax, no Social Security tax withheld from salaries, and no Medicare tax withheld from salaries. Some 60,000 pages of IRS code, regulations, instructions and forms goes into the trash can, along with at least $250 billion a year that individuals and businesses currently pay just to comply with the obscenely complex federal income tax system.
Tourists coming to the U.S. would pay the tax. Illegal immigrants and other crooks could not escape the tax when the purchase goods and services, except to the extent they use a black market for certain items.
Many people say the FairTax will never get enacted. I suppose the same people didn’t believe the Evil Empire (USSR) would now be history as a result of President Reagan’s bold initiatives.
“At the end of the year, they’d probably kick in a big tax credit for those making under a certain amount.”
If they did that there would be little money in revenue, defeating the purpose of the tax.
“We’ve got to keep those welfare families happy, and what better what than to exempt them from the taxes everyone else pays.”
Welfare families already vote for Obama. It’s the middle income that supported him that would rebel.
“They will present it as our only HOPE and blame Bush when everyones bitches when it hits.”
That might succeed with hardcore Obama supporters, but the independents who voted for Obama see through it.
Way to many things have passed that never looked like they would in a million years; and way to many Freepers keep saying or thinking the same stupid thing: "let it pass and see what happens; we can use it to our benefit" ...
This is very true. Perhaps they feel safe in the majority now.
exactly.
“Perhaps they feel safe in the majority now.”
Maybe, but they also want to hold on to power. A national sales tax is not a tax on the rich, it will hit everyone.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.