There was a lot of talk recently about creating a national sales tax in place of an income tax, supposedly causing more "fairness". I strongly agree with the assumptions that this will create more fairness, and strongly disagree with an idea of a national sales tax. Here is why:…
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76 - troll
using these numbersone can 'guesstimate' about 4.5 billion weekly from a 5% tax on labour employed by others - haven't found numbers for the self-employed
troll
77 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
I write from Israel.
We used to have a socialist state with lots of benefits, but a relatively equal rate of income - low - for everybody. Our beknighted leaders walked away from their socialist ideals and have become rip and tear capitalists of the worst sort. This nation has a higher income disparity than yours, if that can be believed.
We have high income taxes here, high real estate taxes, enormous import duties AND a VAT of 16.5%. The result is that everybody tries to get out from under the income tax by working in the "gray market," negotiating over receipts so as to avoid VAT, and working every angle of "protektzia" (influence, whatever) to get around import duties. This makes for an extremely corrupt society, not to mention one which is regressive.
You do not want an national sales tax, under any veil. What will happen to you is that it will be high enough to be nastily regressive, but not high enough to solve your budgetary problems - so the income tax will not go away. You will have both, and the income tax will rise as more of you try every angle to avoid its payment. The voluntary payment of income tax is presently the bedrock of American tax collecting - something you cannot see from within your bubble of frustration and prosperity. Here, there is no voluntariness in payment of income tax. Audits are annual for businesses and biennial for individuals.
Our "Mas Hakhnassá," the agency that enforces the income tax laws here, makes your IRS look tame and friendly by comparison. When faced with Israeli style tax problems, your IRS will grow the fangs of the "Mas Hakhnassá" here. Life in America will be full of love and bounce. Love for the rich and bounce for the poor.
You thnk it is bad now? Allow your congress to pass a national sales tax and you'll see just how bad it can get.
78 - Howard
Ruvy's comments are uninformed. The whole idea a National Sales Tax is to eliminate the income tax totally. With the report of President Bush's "tax reform" committee, we know the administration has succumbed to the demands of those who benefit unfairly from the Internal Revenue Code.(lawyers, accountants, the oil industry, the mining industry, etc.) Only if we, the voters, demand of our elected representatives that a National Sales Tax be enacted will we be free of the unfairness of the Internal Revenue Code. Repeal of the constitutional amendment under which that code was authorized is also required.
79 - Kay
National Sales Tax - I'm FOR it! That way, everyone pays according to their SPENDABLE income! In Louisiana the poor are not spending their money anyway, unless it's for cigarettes or beer! They are spending my money via food stamps, Medicaid, etc...... Everyone eats - you eat more, you pay more; you eat more expensive products, your tax burden is more! It's a no-brainer to me. As for encouraging under the table dealings - give me a break! People are people and they are going to do what they are going to do no matter what the system is. The rich buy expensive toys - let them share a larger portion of the tax burden. As a member of the middle class I'm tired to carrying those above me and those below me. Of course there will have to be other measures taken by congress to insure fairness - bill to set tax limit, abolish income tax, etc.... I'm ready for EVERYONE (drug pushers, illegal immigrants, those with unfair tax breaks) who lives in this great country of ours to share the responsibility for supporting our way of life.
80 - Joseph
I think the experts they are consulting are not looking at the big picture, but just at a small picture. I did some simple math and the government revenues would probably jump by a large amount if they tax at 30%.
What the government really should do is higher some economists that understand that a dollar doesn't get used just once, but understand that a dollar is going to circulate.
I think the NST is a great idea, but not at 23/30%, because it doesn't really need to be higher than 10%, because the dollar I give to the retailer, also gets used to pay wages to their employees, who use their share to purchase goods, while the retailer purchases end user products.
For a five step circulation with 50% attrition at each step. the government still ends up with 2.68 Trillion dollars, or about 20% of our GDP.
A dollar does not circulate just once like everyone being for or against this seems to be thinking, but it circulate multiple times.
I like the idea, I hate the implementation, because their 23/30% NST forces me to actually pay more.
They should dump the rebates, yes, poor spend more, but with the NST they are going to have more to spend.