Commission Begins Review of the Tax Code

[papau]

Seems they are open to all ideas, including a national sales tax, but feel that the options for radical overhaul are limited

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tax17feb17,1,7129932.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

Commission Begins Review of the Tax Code
But the presidential panel indicates it may modify, rather than replace, the system.
By Warren Vieth
Times Staff Writer

February 17, 2005

WASHINGTON — A presidential commission on Wednesday launched what it promised would be a top-to-bottom review of the U.S. tax code, but acknowledged that it might be wiser to modify the existing income tax than to replace it.

Members of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform said all options were on the table, including proposals to replace personal and corporate income taxes with variations on a national sales tax.<snip>

Former Sen. John B. Breaux (D-La.), the panel's vice chairman, said that Bush had directed the commission to draft at least one proposal that would retain the current income tax, preserve incentives for homeownership and charitable contributions, assume that Congress would make all of Bush's previous tax cuts permanent and make sure any additional changes neither raised nor lowered overall tax collections.

In addition, Breaux said, the president told the commission to complete its work in less than six months. "It's an extraordinarily difficult task," he said.

A former Internal Revenue Service commissioner, Fred T. Goldberg Jr., told the commission that Bush's preconditions appeared to rule out the possibility of scrapping the income tax and replacing it with another form of taxation.
<snip>
Among the possibilities they mentioned: supplementing the income tax with a European-style value-added tax, which is similar to a sales levy but is imposed at every level of production; and scaling back or eliminating the alternative minimum tax, which is imposed on affluent taxpayers who claim big deductions.<snip>

[bullimiami]

1. if bushco has anything to do with it you know its up to no good

it will only be a way to shift the tax burden further to the poor without blatantly broadcasting the ultimate goal.



in everything they do and with everything they say there is a motive and its not to enhance this country or its people but to consolidate the wealth and power of the already wealthy and powerful at the expense of the many.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

2. I've already e-mailed Senator Boxer, and will e-mail others

A few KEY points to remember here:

1). The author of the "National Sales Tax" proposal, Rep. John Linder of Georgia, has the enthusiastic backing of Dennis Hastert.

2). IMMEDIATELY following the election, Hastert promoted Linder to a position which would allow him greater leverage in lobbying for this proposal.

3). John Kerry's comments during the election, when Bush denied interest after expressing interest: "For most Americans, every day will be April 15th. Every trip to the supermarket will be like a trip to H&R Block."

4). The "National Sales Tax" is proposed for goods AND SERVICES...that means your RENT, trips to your DOCTOR, every penny you spend. PERIOD.

Folks, if we roll over and go to sleep on this one, we'll have no one to blame but ourselves.

Th Social Security scam is NOTHING...I repeat, NOTHING in comparison to the damage that could result from a "National Sales Tax."

ANOTHER SUGGESTION...Call into your favorite talk radio program today and discuss this. Keep it in the headlines.

[Massacure]

3. We are in the frying pan. Bush wants us in the fire.