The American Spectator

Example: I’m a retiree and live in NYC. I want to buy a new car for $30,000. The Fair tax to the Feds is 20%, so now my new car costs $36,000, my city tax is 8% on the $30,000 so my car now costs $38,400. If the State tax is 3% my cost is $39,100 or at least a 30% increase in the cost of my car. During the same year my roof needs to be replaced at a cost of $15,000 w/ accompanying federal sales tax of $3,000 plus a city sales tax of $1,200 and a State sales tax of 3% or $450 or $4650 total tax. My $15,000 roof is now $19,650. You get my point. With these 2 purchases alone I have been taxed $13,750 and that does not include any major appliance I might have to purchase during the year.

So far my Fair Tax bill is $9,000… my total tax bill for 2004 w/deductions is under $3,000. A no deductions tax bill in a plan like Fair Tax would not even approach the $9,000++ as I’ve outlined.

p>If reform is indeed a political and fiscal imperative, by all means, let’s give a flat tax a fair chance. br> — Clint Alphen /p> p> The obvious concern for politicians, and in particular the Demoncrats, is that they will not be able to count on a consistently increasing source of funds — what would happen if people decided to save more and spend less — government taxes would decrease. That is exactly what is needed to begin to turn this country around. Under the current income tax scheme (and it is a scheme developed to steal the hard-earned money of our citizen’s by an indirect method so that politicians can transfer it to groups whose votes they expect to buy), they do nothing except take the money, and audit the poor souls who are their victims to intimidate them into allowing government to steal more of what they earn. br> — Patrick R. Spooner br> Windham, New Hampshire /p>

Shawn Macomber does an excellent job today of summarizing the compelling arguments for a national sales tax. However, he, like other advocates, ignores a big problem for many of us in joining his support.

Many over age 45-50 have money in banks or investments, which we are saving for retirement, acknowledging that Social Security will be bankrupt, and in any case, not be enough to support a retirement.

All this saved money is the pathetically little amount left from our paychecks AFTER we paid income taxes. If a few years we will be spending these ALREADY-TAXED savings.

To add a national sales tax on to the already-taxed savings is a double tax. And a large one at that. Most advocates of a national sales tax seem to be talking in 15%-17% range.