The "Fair" Tax

[brandon]

I dont really understand how this would be fair at all.

What if I spent the last 5 years saving up $250,000 so I could buy a home without a mortgage. I have already paid my federal income tax on all of this money. Now, right as I am about to purchase my house, we switch to the fair tax. Does this mean I now have to pay an additional 22% federal sales tax on my home???

Wouldn't everyone who saved money prior to the switch end up being taxed twice when they finally spend the money?

 

[FunkBuddha]

I get your point. I'm not a fan of the fair tax, but it's better than an income tax certainly. The nice thing about it though is that you only pay the tax on goods and services at the consumer level one time. So if you are buying a used house or car that the tax has already been paid on, you wouldn't have to pay it again.

Again, I don't want any tax but its better than the income tax.

 

[griblets]

I'm not sure, but want to weigh in on the 22% you mention. Under a certain candidate's logic, the Fair Tax will be 23%, when in fact it is 30%.

If you buy goods for $1 before tax, the amount you would pay is $1.30. That's a 30% tax.

This candidate says it's 23% because it sounds better. He figures it this way: Of that $1.30, 30 cents is tax, so 0.30 / 1.30 = 23%.

Just like his record on other things, he is lying to us. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

 

[Honest Serf]

I get your point. I'm not a fan of the fair tax, but it's better than an income tax certainly. The nice thing about it though is that you only pay the tax on goods and services at the consumer level one time. So if you are buying a used house or car that the tax has already been paid on, you wouldn't have to pay it again.

Again, I don't want any tax but its better than the income tax.

I agree. It has its problems, but is certainly appealing... I may pick up Neal Boortz's The Fair Tax Book sometime.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Don't forget about the "prebate" provision of the "Fair Tax" proposal. Basically puts every American on welfare. Everybody gets a monthly check from the government.

Think of how expensive that would be to administer and pay out, let alone how much fraud would be involved.

 

[scooter]

The sales tax would be just as bad or worse than the IRS system.

Think about it. A national sales tax hurts the middle class and poorer people even worse. The percentages might be the same for everyone, but those higher prices on goods are a higher percentage of total earnings for a poor person.

I support NO tax.

 

[Unspun]

No, The Fair Tax does not apply to used items as the tax was already paid for the item when it was new. A used home that the taxes have already been paid on does not incur a sales tax.

 

[Brian in Maryland]

There is No Such Thing as a Fair Tax

There is No Such Thing as a Fair Tax

http://www.mises.org/story/1975