Fatboy, before he lost a syllable, started a thread about the proposed fairtax bill now before Congress.
http://www.fairtax.org/
Since the thread was still active at the time the forum went down, I would like to hear if anyone had any further thoughts.
I, for one, have been doing a LOT of reading on it and while I am usually adverse to change where economics are concerned and while I doubt the bill will pass, I am excited enough about the idea that I have written to my representative and I think everyone else should also.
I am very concerned about outsourcing and I think this is one of the best ways to combat it. The only part that concerns me that the tax industry would lose jobs, but I think they would easily find jobs elsewhere because the environment for business would be greatly improved.
What does everyone else think? The thought of illegal aliens actually paying taxes makes me giddy.
If this happened, they would need to set up a fairly large enforcement unit to make sure that businesses accounted for the taxes appropriately.
@fatboyshare -- have you read about how they would deal with purchases via mail from outside the US?
http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/taxes/a/aafairtax.htm
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...6/171608.shtml
DeLay: Replace the IRS With Fair Tax
Wes Vernon, NewsMax.com
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
See previous article in series, Taxpayers Socked as Establishment Celebrates.
WASHINGTON – House Majority Leader Tom DeLay wants to get the IRS off the backs of American taxpayers.
By signing on to the Fair Tax Bill, H.R. 25, the Texan has signaled to his troops that abolishing the IRS once and for all is the best way of dealing with oppressive taxation, a confusing convoluted tax code, and an oppressive bureaucracy that enforces the care and feeding of the federal bureaucracy.
The House leader reinforces his determination to get some relief for overtaxed Americans by backing the Fair Tax movement. This is a tax that would be paid on what you consume.
Here’s what the legislation would do:
1. Individuals would not file. Businesses would need to deal only with sales tax returns.
2. Millions of Americans who hire tax accountants to navigate the 4,000-plus pages of the tax code each year would be spared the expense.
3. No more taxes on wages, savings and investments. That alone would increase productivity and result in significant economic growth.
4. As a consumption tax, the amount you pay in taxes would depend on your lifestyle. The more you spend the more you pay, and vice versa. All taxes would be rebated up to the poverty level.
5. Foreign companies would be forced to deal on even terms with American companies for the first time in 80 years. Under the current code, U.S. exports bear an unfair burden, with no adjustment to account for the tax advantages of imports.
***
And you’re going to see that our manufacturing will come back home.”
That would be “Europe’s worst nightmare” because, according to Gettemuller, we will be “so damned efficient.” We’ll sell our goods on the market at considerably less than the competing products of high-tax double-digit economies in Europe, “and they’re going to have to up the tax on" their own products.