Yeah, I don't even think Huckabee believes it ever would either, which says a bit about him and his political aspirations to make such a statement, and also I don't think he will ever happen - to get the rep nomination.
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23% National Sales Tax? Huckabee thinks so...
- Thread starter ZZZzzzzzzz
- Start date
Yeah, I don't even think Huckabee believes it ever would either, which says a bit about him and his political aspirations to make such a statement, and also I don't think he will ever happen - to get the rep nomination.
Not to mention that it would put a huge number of lawyers and accountants into the ranks of the unemployed -- including the infrastructure of authors, researchers and service bureaus that support those professionals.Quote from AAAintheBeltway:
It will never happen. Congress will never give up the power the tax system gives it. If they tried, there are so many politically powerful groups that would be hurt under the so-called fair tax, that it would go nowhere.
For example, retirees. Having paid income taxes on their earnings for a lifetime, under a fair tax their retirement savings would be exposed to even more taxation.
Another example, the mortgage and related home ownership tax breaks. Keep these and the system breaks down. Try and get rid of them and have mass rebellion.
How do you deal with transactions at intermediate production stages? If you tax them, you give vertically integrated companies a big advantage. If you try to address that with a value-added tax, you have introduced a level of complexity that makes the current system look simple. Plus, how do you deal with foreign-made goods? If you ignore wholesale transactions, you open a huge loophole.
How do you deal with the transition period? Keep the income tax and the fair tax? Do that and we'll end up with both forever. Or risk a massive revenue shortfall?
The fair tax is a nice sounding idea that falls apart on serious analysis. Far better to have a flat tax. One suggestion I like is giving taxpayers the option of using the regular tax system or a simplified flat tax. Many taxpayers do that already in effect with the AMT, which is basically a flat tax that excludes most deductions. The AMT is a penal tax however, with a rate that is too high and it unfairly takes away deductions that people have a legitimate expectation of being able to use.
The real question people need to be asking Huckabee is what he will do with our current system. He knows the fair tax is not happening, but he disingenuously uses it to avoid getting pinned down on tax rates,etc. Based on his record, I have grave doubts he would be a president who would face down democrats on tax increases. McCain also fails this test, as he actually voted against tax cuts. If there is one issue republicans should be able to agree on, it is taxes. Even Guiliani is for tax cuts. A weak record on taxes should be a disqualification for a republican candidate.
Nothing short of a second American Revolution or Civil War will get rid of Title 26 USC.
Quote from kjkent1:
Not to mention that it would put a huge number of lawyers and accountants into the ranks of the unemployed -- including the infrastructure of authors, researchers and service bureaus that support those professionals.
Nothing short of a second American Revolution or Civil War will get rid of Title 26 USC.
Hey welcome back Kent. You're right, there would be a lot of unemployed tax professionals. Of course, the magnitude of that "problem" illustrates the enormous cost our current tax system imposes on the economy.