Progressive income taxes discourage productivity. A consumption tax like the fairtax would tax consumption, not productivity. The left comes into this debate with the presumption that citizens that earn high salaries are "rich" and are ABLE to pay higher taxes, while those that make less income, are "poor" and NEED more from government and should pay less. That is why, even now the top 20% of taxpayers pay 80% of the taxes. This concept sounds like the Marxist chant of "from each according to their ability to each according to their need."
Progressive income taxes discourage productivity. A consumption tax like the fairtax would tax consumption, not productivity. The left comes into this debate with the presumption that citizens that earn high salaries are "rich" and are ABLE to pay higher taxes, while those that make less income, are "poor" and NEED more from government and should pay less. That is why, even now the top 20% of taxpayers pay 80% of the taxes. This concept sounds like the Marxist chant of "from each according to their ability to each according to their need." I am inclined to agree with you, but I have several reservations about some of the consumption tax proposals:
First, the level of federal spending is much too high, regardless of how the taxes are collected.
Second, I would consider a national consumption tax only if all forms of the income tax were killed and buried forever. This would undoubtedly require a constitutional amendment. If this is not done, we could end up with both kinds of taxes.
Third, sale taxes are considered "regressive," which have led some to propose some kind of rebate to make the taxes more "progressive." This would create another messy bureaucracy, and would tempt politicians to tinker further with the tax code.