What is your opinion on the fair tax?  Someone requested info about a week ago, but there was only one person that posted a reply.  The book has been out for over a week now, and it is supposed to debut #1 next week on the New York Times bestseller list. This industry probably has more than it's fair share of underestimating of yearly incomes.  Don't know if that will change some peoples views on it.

Thanks

kc


-- Modified on 8/11/2005 4:23:47 PM

A flat 13 percent tax.  Now, I don't know enough details to know if that's sales, income or anything.  But Hong Kong went from a rock with no resources to an industrial and population center in fifty years, and the government makes a profit!  

IMHO, the main problem with America is jurisdictional.  There are too many governments with the authority to tax, and it's not possible to keep them all responsible.  It's separation of powers run amok.  Also, for too long, American's have equated inefficient, incompetent government with a protection of their freedom.  

 

however I would contend that until the multi-billion dollar private tax preparation & protection industry can be saved from the effects of a flat or "fair" tax we will be stuck with the status-quo.

  Cm.

A flat tax will never work ... the rich will ALWAYS find ways around taxes that's just the way it is.

While in theory a flat or fair tax sounds like the solution, I just can't see EVERYONE playing by the rules. Happens currently, big corp.’s stick their money in off shore accounts to avoid US tax laws as it is, same with the excessively rich that know how and can afford to do so.

OF all the solutions I've heard proposed, I like the idea of doing away with any "income" tax and simply switching to taxing EVERYTHING you PURCHASE ... it doesn't punish you for making money and saving it, only for spending it. The downside risk is that it may "initially" slow the economy and spending and make things more expensive to buy ... but to me this a "perceived" risk only. Example ... gasoline, shit it's almost $3.00 a gallon in LA now ... people still buy it now more than ever ... also as much as they complain about $3 gas those same people willingly spend $4.00 on a grande' coffee.

Simply, NO TAX system will work fully until you can eliminate the loopholes around it, and with the way things get done in Washington, that's not going to happen anytime soon.

if you want to go back to the Middle Ages. The fact is that the super-rich spend barely a fraction of the money that they have while middle class and poor people spend most of the money that they make, so this tax would place an incredibly heavy burden on them. If you are Donald Trump or Paris Hilton, it is a great deal. If you are not, then you would be an idiot to support it. I've heard also that it would take about a 33% tax to meet current expenditures. Could you imagine the logistics not to mention the amount of fraud if vendors had to withhold that kind of money? And don't think about the value of your house if that tax write off becomes worthless. In fact what is to stop them from actually imposing this sales tax on the purchase of your house? Anyone in favor of this ridiculous plan must really hate America because they are in favor of changing the thing that made this country great--namely a strong middle class.

-- Modified on 8/13/2005 11:10:10 AM

The "Fair Tax" is a proposed national sales tax, a consumptive tax. Not a the same as the "Flat Tax" proposed by Steven Forbes. A national sales tax would kill the US economy, since the economy is based upon consumption nowadays. People would stop purchasing luxury items, new cars, etc. Forbes noted that another serious and legitimate problem is taxing of services. If you pay cash or barter, how is that taxed?

The "Flat Tax" basically taxes all income over a certain base dollar amount (Forbes was saying something along the lines of $50,000 fot a family of four). No exemptions. The principle being that mortgage rates would actually go down and net take home would rise.

The one caveat that Forbes points out is you need to insure that there's only one form of taxation-either flat income tax or national sales tax. Otherwise the lunatics in DC will try and implement both.

Read his book (or are you one of those who doesn't think that Forbes has an adequate financial background?)

-- Modified on 8/12/2005 9:54:23 PM

It will not solve the problem of effective tax collection. Many of the assumptions that the proponents are baseing their analysis on are shaky at best, and pure lunancy at worse.
I would support a flat tax where the govenrment simply gets a fixed percentage of our income and there are no deductions. Under a flat tax system inheritances would be subject to the flat tax, regardless of the size of the inheritance.

or get inheritances either paid the flat rate or get sent to jail. I think that you are overly harsh of wealthy people, the great majority would be glad to pay something like a simple 15% and be rid of the headaches that come with the instruments that they now use to shield their earnings. I totally agree that loopholes in any tax system must be eliminated, the loopholes are the large problem. What I do not agree with is singling out the wealthy for special bile. The majority of people in that group do play by the rules as they are written and would welcome a simpler tax code.