I wish they'd stop talking about "a national sales tax" as if it's a fix..

[JohnnyRingo]

...for the income tax code.
People speak of it as though it would bring about a "fairness" and level the playing field of taxation.

Think about it: A tax on EVERY nickel we spend. Most working Americans spend almost all their paycheck on the staples that allow us to live from day to day.

Up to a 27% tax on food, tax on doctor visits, tax on your cable bill, car repairs, medicine, and small household appliances.

The very wealthy don't use more toilet paper, milk, paper clips, or Kraft macaroni and cheese than the average working stiff in suburban Cleveland.

Exempted from taxation would be the money left over at the end of the year that can be placed into sheltered investments. Some would have more than others after their daily expenses. Some would have a LOT more left over.

When will common people stop advocating those policies written by the "investor class" designed to pass the bill for running this country down to those who can least afford it.

[livinbella]

1. Yes, it is a Horrible idea

Too bad americans are dumber than dirt.

[candy]

2. Just curious--where did you get the 27% figure on food?

[JohnnyRingo]

10. The 27% is in the suggested margin of taxation proposed by advocates.

http://www.salestax.org/

When they say "All goods purchased"....Will food be exempted? Not while politicians continue to rubber stamp spending bills.

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/10/25/164856.php

There are different national sales tax proposals floating around, but I will try to give an overall summary. The national sales tax plan would set a flat sales good purchased. There are different ideas of what this would like - do services get taxed? What about homes? Healthcare? Used goods? But generally, we would expect to pay a percentage on EVERYTHING that we purchased. Fairtax.org states that a 23% rate on all goods would be necessary to meet the nation's current budget. Along with this tax rate, most proposals include a rebate. In the Fairtax.org plan, the rebate would be a flat amount based on the poverty level, which would mean a family of four would receive a $361 monthly rebate, regardless of your income.

It turns out that the group's purported 23 percent tax rate is misleading and hypothetical. It came up with that number by dividing the sales tax by the cost of a purchase plus the tax. So if the tax on a $100 purchase is $30, the group prefers to call it a 23 percent "tax inclusive rate" ($30 divided by $130). Ever hear of computing a sales tax like that?

The fact that the group's sales tax, even by its own figures, entails a 30 percent tax rate is only the beginning of the math problems. The group's backup materials also assert that almost a third of its projected sales-tax revenue is supposed to come from taxes the Government will pay to itself. Build a road, pay yourself a tax. Buy some planes for the Air Force, pay yourself some more. And so on.

[Rose Siding]

3. That system would discourage spending...

and spending drives the economy. Evil genius!

[frylock]

11. it would also encourage stealing

[smirkymonkey]

4. That's why it's called a regressive tax, it eats up more of our

disposable income than it does for the rich. I can't believe they would f-ing tax FOOD!

This country is fucked.

[Wright Patman]

7. Have you seen how fat

people are becoming in this country?

This is a regressive scheme, but I've always heard it said, if you want less of something, tax it, and more of something, subsidize it.

Seriously, though, not even Texans will go for this. We have one of the highest sales taxes in the nation, but food is exempted.

[China_cat]

9. We pay tax

on food already here in SC. The only thing that is non-taxable here is service.

[miss_kitty]

5. hey! more regressive taxation?

what else would you expect from an amoral assclown who suffers under the delusion he has a mandate? Like he did the first time.

When 'common people' learn about 'critical thinking' and that letting someone else do their thinking for them is quite costly to them personally and to us as a society, then maybe things will change.

As for getting the horse to drink, we gotta get him to the water first.

[sandnsea]

6. I know

But that anti-liberal voter out there is tired of sponging off the rich, they want to carry their fair share of the tax burden too. After all, those rich people risked everything so they should get all the rewards, and the working stiff should be grateful they've even got a job. All hail corporate America.

I'm feeling like a broken record, but if we don't expose the sham of corporate America and the fact that they get their wealth from government contracts and tax breaks; we are totally fucked. Every single issue we care about is directly linked to the power corporate America has. Everything.

[China_cat]

8. The thing is

that 23% or even 27% would not replace what is collected in income tax NOW. In order to do that, the sales tax would have to be closer to 60%.

But it also means that those living in poverty who pay no tax now would be taxed more heavily than anyone else considering the proportion of their income that goes for items necessary for life.

It also forgets to tell people that it DOES NOT cancel your state sales and income taxes. So if you are in a state where your sales tax is already 8.5% and you get a 23% federal sales tax, you'll be paying 31.5% tax on everything.

If you live in a state like SC it gets even worse because we have to pay a 'personal property' tax every year on cars, trucks (vehicles of any kind) boats and mobile homes. Since this is a sales tax, the federal tax would be added to it.

I did my own calculations for my family. At a 23% sales tax and including SC's 6% sales tax, if we were paying it last year, our tax liability would have been 1/3 MORE than it was just from our purchases of groceries alone. JUST ON GROCERIES.

If you use quicken or some other form that tracks your expenditures, I invite you to do your own math.

[PretzelWarrior]

12. people are BUYING this shit. flat tax? benefits the very rich

tax cut on dividends? benefits the rich. (yes, spillover benefit for some who get dividend income....but more than any other taxes, this is a boon to the owning class)

tax cuts on capital gains tax? sure. this helps us when selling homes or exercising stock options but by far the biggest benefit goes to rich.

sales tax? any kind of consumption tax like this is regressive in nature. It will effect a higher percentage of the income and spending of a poor person than it will a rich person.

Think about buying a car. THink about buying a boat. Anything will cost more and help this government let the rich off.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS MY COUNTRY!!!

Roosevelt, Truman, the Kennedys and Johnson are rolling over in their graves.

[girl gone mad]

13. "tax simplification" is a euphemism for "tax hike"

and we need to stop playing the game by their terms.

Don't call it tax reform or simplification, call it what it is, the impending tax increase on the middle class.

Our talkinbg heads should NEVER use their euphemisms, just like it's wrong to call genocide "ethnic cleansing".