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The Spectacle Blog
The Washington Post reports that a national sales tax, embraced by some because it would prop up the faltering social welfare state, is gaining fans in Congress.
We’ll see how far lawmakers like Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota) who think such a tax would be a good thing for America get with the proposal.
“There is a growing awareness of the need for fundamental tax reform,” Conrad said. “I think a VAT and a high-end income tax have got to be on the table.”
The paper describes a VAT, or value-added tax, as “a tax on the transfer of goods and services that ultimately is borne by the consumer. Highly visible, it would increase the cost of just about everything, from a carton of eggs to a visit with a lawyer. It is also hugely regressive, falling heavily on the poor.”
I suspect such a tax, depending on how it is administered, might actually provoke civil unrest in America because consumers would quickly tire of shelling out extra for everything or virtually everything they purchase. The beauty of income taxes, from the statist point of view, is that they are generally withheld at the source, and so income earners don’t feel the same kind of pain at the loss of money they never had in the first place.
Europeans and Canadians may put up with this burdensome tax scheme but my guess is Americans would not.
Meanwhile, Phil Kerpen of Americans for Prosperity has a good summary of the ramifications of bringing a national sales tax to the U.S.
View all comments (16) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Matthew Vadum
http://spectator.org/blog/2009/05/27/socialist-sales-tax-may-be-com
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Angel| 5.27.09 @ 8:54PM
But, Matt--Obama promised a tax cut for 95% of Americans. Is it possible ......that the Obamassiah lied? Hannum had it right, "There's a sucker born ever minute." Lots of 'em in America, that's for sure.
Roy| 5.27.09 @ 8:56PM
So this is now "socialist"? Here I thought it was the "Fair Tax"...
Matthew Vadum | 5.27.09 @ 9:13PM
No, Roy.
The "Fair Tax," according to http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer, is a comprehensive proposal that would replace "all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach..."
Daisy| 5.27.09 @ 9:50PM
How embarrassing, Roy. What a burn. lol
MarkJ| 5.27.09 @ 10:20PM
Super-geniuses like Kent Conrad obviously aren't counting on the possibility that a VAT will merely help create a "Goodfellas economy": after all, who's gonna pay taxes on stuff that's been hijacked, bootlegged, smuggled, produced surreptitiously, or just plain "fell off the back of a truck"? Hell, we had rationing during World War II, and as soon as that had been imposed everybody immediately started figuring out ways to get around it.
Well?
Pingback| 5.27.09 @ 11:12PM
Twitted by comicsun links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Bo Darville| 5.27.09 @ 11:23PM
The national sales tax will have exemptions for hummus, hybrids, and other things desired by the lefties. The punitive tax on handguns, charcoal, and vintage cars will be through the roof.
Curtis Rasmussen| 5.28.09 @ 12:02AM
The American consumer needs to be intimately aware of their tax burden. Eliminating withholding and forcing people to write a check to the gov'mint each month would be a good start. Say no to the selective vice-punishing VAT.
Our elected representatives are feverishly running this country into the ground with new taxes and entitlements. Whatever they come up with, a cornerstone of tax reform will involve keeping the populace in the dark as much as possible.
tonypal| 5.28.09 @ 9:14AM
Obviously a VAT is a terrible idea if implemented. However, I would implore all of you to look at the latest Zogby poll. There is a link to it at The American Thinker, from yesterday. It has some fascinating results and clearly points out that if Obama goes back on his pledge to cut taxes for everyone earning under $250K, which we all know he is going to do, he will be hurt politically in a big way.
So I say, go ahead and bring on the VAT, or at least we should hope that the dems and Obama are foolish enough to give the matter a serious hearing. Remember, just because they bring it up doesn't mean it will happen.
Roy| 5.28.09 @ 10:52AM
So what makes this tax "fair" is if it is enacted simultaneously with repealing other taxes? Otherwise, it is "socialist"?
Not buying.
I have watched with absolute flabbergastment(that may not be a word, but it should be) as people try to make support for a scheme to shuffle which pocket the government takes money out of into the cornerstone of conservatism. Vladimir Lenin could not have devised a better scheme to keep his opponents divided and squabbling over nothing.
notmypresident09| 5.28.09 @ 11:59AM
Hello VAT, Hello underground commodity and trading off goods. Off the books will take on an entirely new meaning. Welcome back Goodfellas and Idilwyle airport
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