The Fair Tax

[Sebass1271]

received this from a friend of mine. This group would like to eliminate all federal, payroll and estate taxes.. I am not sure if i support this bill because of the harm it will cause to the poor. I would like, however, your input and expertise on this subject. Who is this group supporting this? Are they republicans? their idea of eliminating taxes sound very rethug-like to me.

[atreides1]

1. Link Please

[Sebass1271]

6. here is the link

http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_main

I received from my friend.

[NoPasaran]

2. It's a favorite project of the Screwball Right n/t

[baldguy]

3. And replace it with what?

Are they libertarian no-govt anarchist lunatics? Or are the just anti-tax crybabies?

[Sebass1271]

7. progressive sales tax!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think they are crazy!

[Dappleganger]

4. The only thing that's fair...

is eliminating all of the loopholes which allow the rich to get out of paying taxes.

[Sebass1271]

5. here is the link for the crazy Fair Tax Idea

http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_main

[Selatius]

8. They want to replace the income tax with a national sales tax or consumption tax.

From the reports I read, it means a sales tax of roughly 23% on all goods and products sold regardless if it is off the store shelf or through bulk purchases like retailers and corporations often use for office supplies or to restock warehouses.

[lumberjack_jeff]

9. The "fair tax" is a stupid idea from a very long line of stupid ideas.

If you think that a 44% sales tax is a good idea... let's just say we won't see eye to eye.

http://www.brookings.edu/papers/1998/03taxes_gale.aspx

[Davis_X_Machina]

10. Huckabee's campaign featured it....

....and Neil Boortz has pushed it hard for years. Not good company...

The original plan was ginned up by a bunch of Houston real-estate machers, and has attracted the usual suspects.

We're talking about a Federal sales tax of between 24% and 30%, depending. I presently pay ~17% of my income in federal income taxes, and I'm in the fourth ($75-$100,000) income quintile. Add on my FICA, and it's about a wash, barely For everyone south of me -- and that's at least 60% of Americans -- it would be a tax increase.

[Sebass1271]

11. why would these ppl support such if means tax increases in

the long run???

[Davis_X_Machina]

13. Because it's supported by the GOP...

...and that's a brand name they trust to deal with matters economic.

Seriously.

It's a simple solution to a complex problem, and simple solutions have their own constituency -- simpletons.

And it means they'll be spared the confiscatory -- just under 39% -- marginal rate on their Powerball winnings.

Because they're going to win Powerball someday.

Seriously.

[Enthusiast]

19. Neil Boortz is a NAZI

He has never had a good idea. Stay away, far away.

[fmlymninral]

12. I think the fair tax plan

Is a good idea. We are not a manufacturing based economy anymore we are a service based or consumer based economy so we need to tax consumption. the rich who consume more would pay more. Foreign goods which have no income tax, no ss tax, nor medicare tax would cost more while american products could be more competitive by eliminating those costs. Plan has a rebate provision for those in the lower income bracket. No need to hide monies as rich do now and would also capture the cash economy.

[Dr.Phool]

14. A simple solution for simple minds.

When the rich try to hide their money to avoid taxes, confiscate all of it. They'll stop trying to hide it.

[Davis_X_Machina]

16. In a 2004 study, Citizens for Tax Justice determined that

..."replacing most federal taxes with a national sales tax would mean very large
tax increases on most Americans and very large tax cuts for the wealthy. The tables that
follow speak for themselves, but a few important points can be highlighted:

• In virtually every state in the union, the bottom 80 percent of taxpayers would face
  much higher taxes under a sales tax. Nationwide, these tax increases would
  average about $3,200 a year.
  
• Put another way, on average the 80 percent of Americans in the middle- and lower-
  income ranges would pay 51 percent more in sales taxes than they now pay in the
  federal taxes that the proposed national sales tax would replace.
  
• In contrast, the best-off one percent of all taxpayers nationwide would get average
  tax reductions of about $225,000 each per year."

Source (PDF file..]

[Greyhound]

18. Take a glance behind the curtain, this is a terrible idea based on a

series of fallacies/lies.

We could call it the "I can't do math" tax.

[Greyhound]

15. Just about the only option that is worse than what we have, absolutely brilliant. n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

17. Not something I'd ever support. Extremely regressive tax.