Trump's 20% border tax is a giant transfer of wealth that will raise prices on everything

[vlyons]

"The Trump administration has drawn plenty of attention for plenty of reasons. But the lynchpin of the Trump era is a tax increase at the border. Called lots of things, it is simply a tax on corporations that import from abroad. The House Republican version is a 20 percent tax that would be the basis of the corporate tax code and pay for, well, everything on the Trump agenda, like the border wall."

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/03/08/trump-pull-one-biggest-transfers-wealth-history-texas-will-lose

[Warpy]

1. It also doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of passing.

His grandiose ideas would cost corporations far too much and Congress will have every lobbyist on K Street telling them they can kiss their bribes, er, campaign contributions goodbye if it passes.

It's a monumentally stupid idea.

He might be able to get away with a much lower percent but never 20%, a number that came right out of his fat ass with no research into how much we rely on Mexico for imports.

[guillaumeb]

2. Any sales tax affects the bottom 90% the most.

Because the bottom 90% spend more of their total incomes. Basic economics.

[HoneyBadger]

3. Sales tax is local

So you will probably have to stack it on top of the border tax. Like gas tax, tobacco tax, etc.

Sales tax is considered to more fair than income tax for the poor, since the poor do not have the deductions and accountants that the middle class and rich use to avoid paying.

[guillaumeb]

5. I should have said "border tax".

Because it is presumably a tax on all imports.

But any tax on purchases will affect those who spend 100% of their income on purchases more than the top earners.

[ret5hd]

6. Who, exactly, considers sales tax to be fairer than income tax for the poor???

Links please! They will surely make for interesting perusal!!!

[HoneyBadger]

7. Mike Gravel

http://new.mikegravel.us/fair_tax?page=1

[ret5hd]

8. Well, I was certainly hoping for something...

more entertaining than that hackneyed libertarian drivel!

Just sayin' sport, I think ya' might have got off the train at the wrong stop.

[Doodley]

4. It's the "Wall Tax" to pay for Trump's wall.