Oh good heavens help us...

[kellinator]

The latest idea from Herr Shrub: Let's get rid of the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.

This is the worst idea I've heard from the Idiot-in-Chief since... oh, who's counting?

I don't know a lot about economics, but I come from Tennessee, home of one of the highest sales taxes in the nation (including on food, and yes I do mean groceries). And sales taxes are definitely regressive.

Do the math. Say a person needs x amount of food to survive, taxed at 8%. For Bill Gates that tax is nothing; for the average middle-class American it's an 8% jump in the food bill. Talk about your cost of living increase...

I guess this is his way of saying he doesn't think he's put enough of the tax burden on the middle and lower class.

And if this post pisses you off, I don't give a fuck.

EDIT: Excellent article from resipsaloquitor:
http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/11/news/economy/election_tax/index.htm?cnn=yes

Comments

[the-yellow-king.livejournal.com]

Risking certain death, I would not mind if this came to pass. It would actually benefit me. Why?

I can't get out of paying income taxes. I have no way around it. As a single male making approximately $25k a year, I have very little to use in the way of skirting around tax laws. Even my father, a tax consultant, can do little to assist me on that level. I either need to make a) way less money or b) way more money in order to find loopholes and work-arounds. Even the educational tax breaks provide me with very little.

I also have no incentive to make a few thousand more than I do now, which I could push for. The last time I went above the 25k level, I was paying out taxes at the end of the year instead of getting a refund. It was actually more money for me to make less than to make more. If I were making 50-60k, then I could get somewhere...but till then, it's just sad.

OTOH, with a national sales tax, I can find many ways around the problem. There is so much I could do by grey/black market that the savings to my income would be worth it. More money, more happiness for me.

Is this a selfish opinion, you say? Of course it is! However, when we start talking about money, making it, and keeping it, it immediately becomes all about the individual. It is the final and most important equation - how does this benefit ME?

$0.02 worth.

[gladstone.livejournal.com]

You wouldn't even have to resort to the gray/black market to avoid the sales tax. Just buy used. Used goods, having already been taxed when they were new, won't be taxed again.

[the-yellow-king.livejournal.com]

Even better!
Heh.
Do not make me wish this would go in effect more than I already do. I would be put on Kell's Death List. :)

[not-hothead-yet.livejournal.com]

exactly my question: how does allowing the top income earners and corporate entities to get out of taxation benefit ME? I can't see either of those classes doing much to pass the savings along to MY pocket. But I'm still going to pay. If there is no forgivenness for necessity spending, then there's no value to ME.
If there is no forgivenness for necessity spending, then taxing what I buy places a larger burden on my money because a larger proportion of my income goes to necessity spending. If we spend 90% of our after tax income, that's a whole 30% slapped on top of it. Does this fall short of the 30$ taxation of the gross income? If it does, it will be a very small amount.
And most importantly, who's paying for schools and basic public health care? I really don't like the idea of "consumption" or smallpox making a big comback.