Posted on 05/06/2012 7:15:07 PM PDT by Typical_Whitey
THE value-added tax is getting some love lately, but will anyone listen? In his new book, "The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform—Why We Need It and What It Will Take", Bruce Bartlett, an erstwhile Republican wonk, comes out in favour of a VAT. Josh Barro, a center-right economic policy analyst, writes today in favour of a VAT at Bloomberg View. Just one more curmudgeonly self-hating conservative tax analyst and we have a trend! (If you're not sure how a VAT works, Mr Barro's third paragraph has you covered.)
Conservatives have long opposed a VAT on the grounds that it makes raising revenue too easy. Rather than starving the beast, a VAT awards the beast a lifetime pass to the Golden Corral. In a review of "The Benefit and the Burden", David Henderson, a research fellow at the Hoover Institute, tracks the evolution of Mr Bartlett's VATitude:
For a few years now, he has argued that the United States should adopt a vat, and he continues that argument in his book. Conservatives and libertarians tend to oppose a vat on the grounds that it is a “money machine” for the federal government. Indeed, Bartlett writes that he had opposed the vat on those grounds. So why did he change his mind Because he no longer sees “any hope of controlling entitlement spending before the baby-boom deluge hits.” He writes, “The United States [he means the U.S. government] needs a money machine.”
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
Time for some Guerrilla capitalism.
Is it a VAT or a national sales tax? There is a difference you know. Let’s use the correct terminology. A lot of people have been calling for a National Sales tax which is not necessarily a VAT. So which is it?
unreal... MORE taxes in addition to HIGHER taxes, because g_d forbid we actually cut SPENDING. here in PA they’re talking about replacing property tax with “alternative sources” like a sales tax... sounds great, until they add it and don’t reduce the latter, or not to the same degree. even a new VAT would become just as complicated as the current code once every politician takes care of their pet groups and lobbyists... gotta feed the government beast, y’know?
Look how well it’s working out for France.
NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOOO!!!!!! NO VAT!
When I lived in the UK, it was 17.5%. Top that off with all of the ‘sin taxes’ that get raised year after year by the Chancellor of the Exchequer....and they’re STILL broke!
How will they enforce all these new rules and taxes? People are already going Galt, this’ll just speed it up.
At the risk of getting flamed, I would say that a VAT is usually a less bad form of taxation than income taxes. We have the GST (Goods and Services Tax) here in Canada & to the extent that it *displaces* an equivalent amount of income tax, rather than *adds to* the income taxes, it is a slight improvement. OTOH, if it is used as a tax grab — you don't want it.
I’ve been worried about this for quite some time. There’s going to be quite a bit less income for a lot of people for quite a long time, therefore less income tax will be paid. And for people who “won” the housing bubble and are going to be retired for the next thirty years or more won’t have any income either. Screw ‘em both with a tax on everything they buy,
I think a GST would be preferable to the current tax system, but I also believe that a true VAT is not politically possible in the country, thank God.
Does a VAT require a Constitutional Amendment or is it merely a Congressional law to be passed?
That’s the worry here — that a “new, low” VAT (or national sales tax or whatever) would be introduced with promises of “reforming the existing tax code at a later date” which of course would never happen.
F.Y.Interest. It’s now 20%. As of Jan 2011.
Thanks! And it NEVER ends!!!!!!
Thanks Vintage Freeper for posting this:
Thanks Typical_Whitey.
“Is it a VAT or a national sales tax? There is a difference you know. Let’s use the correct terminology. A lot of people have been calling for a National Sales tax which is not necessarily a VAT. So which is it?”
Simple answer:
It’s a TAX, no matter what you call it.
Money out of YOUR pockets, into theirs.
And what may you expect in return?
...they’re going to force a VAT on us for our own good, aren’t they? :(:(:(:(
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