The FairTax Book
I just finished reading The FairTax Book by Neil Bortz and John Linder. It gives a pretty good overview of the FairTax plan (see previous blog entry) and is a fun and quick read. I've been excited about how well the book has been selling (was #1 on both the New York Times and Amazon.com bestseller lists). I'm hoping that means there's a lot of grassroots support for a national sales tax just waiting to explode into action.
I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book, read it, and then carry it around visibly as a conversation starter. The more people we can make aware of this plan, the better its chances of succeeding. There is really not much bad to be said about the plan once you understand it.
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3 comments:
Brian,
Hello. Do you understand the fairtax book? Really?
Do you know fairtax has the government paying a major portion of our taxes?
Yes. Now, Fairtax says only PEOPLE pay taxes - and they are right. But on page 148 Neal writes "the federal government itself will be a major taxpayer".
And thats right -- Fairtax has the government itself paying about 500 billion dollars in taxes -- to itself.
For example, everything from the space shuttle, to air craft carriers, to jets, to toothpaste for the Amry, will pay a fairtax.
Every tank. Every bullet. Every pencil.
Also, did you know cancer surgery is taxed? Chemo? Did you know nursing home patients are taxed?
Did you know a person could get more fairtax than they have income? yes, in fact, many would.
I know people who had 130,000 dollars in medical care, in just two months. Yet their income was less than 30,000 a year. Insurance and medicare paid their medical bills.
Who would pay those taxes on that?
Fairtax depends on getting 460 billion in taxes, just from people who pay medical care.
Did you know renters will all pay the fairtax - on their rent?
ANd all their utlities?
And on all their insurance premiums?
I bet you didn't know all this.
And I bet you don't the ramifications of pretending to collect money from the government to pay the government.
Do you reself a favor, quit believing this farce, its already a joke amoung people who know anything about math or taxes.
Yes, it would work - IF you could have a tax rate of 60-90%. Because health care, rent, other things would get exemptions.
Mark,
Yes, I think I understand the FairTax book (and the plan in general). And I agree that the things you point out are true. But I disagree with your view that these are negative characteristics of the FairTax.
Sure, the government will pay taxes. Why shouldn't it? It shouldn't receive special treatment like it does today. Perhaps putting the government on equal footing with private industry will encourage more people to advocate a smaller government.
Why shouldn't medical products and services be taxed? Is it fair to healthy people today that their taxes provide for people who have abused their health and want the rest of us to pay for their lives to continue indefinitely? People need to make responsible choices rather than expecting the rest of the country to support them for life.
Yes, a person may receive a FairTax prebate that is larger then their income. That a side effect of the progressive nature of the FairTax and I say that's how it should work. Everyone receives a prebate to counter the tax on a basic level of goods and services. This is really not much different from today's income tax where low income families receive tax refunds larger than their income; FairTax just does it in a much simpler and equitable way.
Of course renters will pay tax on rent and utilities. Why shouldn't they? Homeowners will pay tax on their mortgage interest and utilities. New homes are taxed on the sale price. This ends up being more fair than today where homeowners get special treatment by way of the mortgage interest deduction.
You seem to have forgotten how much extra spending money people will have after not having to pay income tax, payroll tax, social security, and medicare tax. This will have wonderful effects on our economy as people have more flexibility with how to spend all of the money they've earned.
Mark, what would you prefer over the FairTax? It is a much better alternative to our current tax system as well as other reform proposals that have been made.
-Brian
Brian, thanks for responding.
You are about the ONLY person in Fairtax that takes on the difficult issues you tried to deal with.
You asked why the government shouldnt pay its own taxes.
Should? Thats not the point. It CANT. I thought I made that clear.
Its IMPOSSIBLE for the government to pay itself an income or sales tax, SINCE IT WRITES the check TO itself.
Sure, the government can write itself a check every day, for 100,000. But at the end of 10 days, it doesnt have an income of a million.
Really - its IMPOSSIBLE for the government to pay itself 800 billion dollars and count that as income.
Should has nothing to do with it.
Then you asked why medical costs shouldnt be taxed.
Well Brian, take the case of 2 million people in nursing homes. 80% of those are on medicaid of some type. They make less than 1000 a month, and thats ALREADY deducted, they ALREADY pay all but like 10 dollars of that.
SO they DON'T have another 30,000 a year for a sales tax.
Also, the parents of a child with leukemia DOESNT HAVE 50,000 extra for sales tax on the chemo and radiation and doctor bills. They just DONT have it.
Also -- what do you think would happen when these people I mentioned started seeing these HUGE taxes -- no one on EARTH makes nursing home patients or cancer patients pay a sales tax. W
What do you think these people will do?
THey will scream bloody murder, thats what. They will call their congressman, their Senator, the local TV station, everyone.
DO you think a congressman will say "tuff -- pay the tax or face charges of tax evasion"?
No, believe me. Congressmen wont do that. Congressmen will bend over backward exempting these kinds of people from those taxes.
Brian, what makes you think someone can get more tax prebate than they make? Was that a typo?
Yes if they made nothing or 199 a mont.
But a person could get 50,000 in sales taxes -- when they only make 20,000. Yes, if they had a child with leukemia, and had to pay 150,000, they could get a sales tax from fairtax of 50,000. Maybe they had to sell their house to pay the bills -- but would they have to go to jail if they didn't pay the sales tax?
Fairtax really --honestly -- is a farce. The leaders know its a farce. They are fooling you. They hope you don't wake up to their con.
They have NO intention of this ever passing -- they would soil their pants if it passed, cause THEY know its a crock. THEY know it would be a disaster and a joke for 100 years.
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