National Sales Tax

[Scanner]

I still think the government can exert control with a national sales tax or VAT.

Want Americans to lose weight? Apply a fat tax on sugar.
Want Americans to stop burning oil? Gas tax.
Want Americans to stop using the ER's to sober up after partying on Friday night? Liquor Tax.

Perhaps have brocolli and spinach be "tax free" (except the oil it takes to get it to your supermarket).

These all can be rolled into seperate VAT rates for the above substances

And so on.

You don't tax productivity IMO. . .this has ended up being a national dysfunction. . .I would support abolishing earned income tax (work) but still keeping tax on unearned income (investments) seems reasonable. Paris Hilton can earn all she wants with labor but passive investments should be taxed (other than muni bonds). Why? Because they aren't by their very nature induce productivity in the individual.

As far as the poor, they need to have skin in the game too. They still need roads, an army to protect them, FDA inspecting food, and so on.

[humandraydel]

Originally Posted by EEinNJ

Doing away with income tax and replacing it with a sales, flat, and/or VAT, even if it resulted in just as much revenue, would take away government influence on our lives, and they're not going to give up that power.

One of the tools Government has to implement policy is the tax code. To encourage home ownership, the mortgage deduction. Saving energy, credits for insulation, windows, etc. Preventing families from retaining and passing wealth to the next generation, estate taxes. Saving for retirement, there's IRA's. It's not just about money to operate government, it's about control.

Everyone assumes that a federal sales tax has to be extremely simple - it doesn't. There can be just as many tiers of tax and/or exemptions as deemed necessary. In other words, pure luxuries (yachts) and small luxury consumer items (big screen TVs) could be taxed at 20%. Necessities can be taxed at varying degrees based on the degree they are necessary. Clothes taxed at 5%, food at 0%. In order to influence behavior just tailor the sales tax - a significant reduction in taxes on insulation and windows, for example.

[Scanner]

If you want Americans to stop shooting things, you could tax ammunition.

And then watch Maat and Drill proceed to have strokes on the floor.

[maat55]

Originally Posted by Scanner

If you want Americans to stop shooting things, you could tax ammunition.

And then watch Maat and Drill proceed to have strokes on the floor.

Want to guess how much I have spent on ammunition in the last 10 years? Less than 10 bucks. But, I am going this Sunday to a gun class in order to get my concealed carry licence.