muddysmind.com

americans belive in a progressive tax. there is definatly room for improvment in the tax code, but i dont see people supporting a flat tax. maybe a teir tax, but nothing as regressive as this "fair tax". rich people would still be getting away with alot and the burden of the taxes would fall on the middle and lower income classes. much the way it is now btw.

Actually sir, that's factually false. Go read the plan. The lower class would pay virtually no taxes. The middle class probably wouldn't change much. The upper class would take on a larger tax burden.

Also, the lower 50% of income earners ($100k per year) of income earners were paying >50% of the taxes then and it has increased. So that leaves the middle 40% paying for <50%. Like I said, the lower and middle class numbers have actually gone down since then. Why? Because the middle class's tax burden has shrunk to 14.6 % of their income. Down from over 16% during the Clinton years. The lower 50% of income earners pay next to nothing in taxes these days.

I don't think Americans believe in the income tax system - except for the liberals. The problem is that most Americans think that we have always had an income tax because that's all they are told about it school. If we ended payroll withholding and American's saw how much the government was taking from them, we would have an overnight tax revolt.

I can't see how this plan could hurt poor people. The only people it would hurt would be people with pre-investment taxed retirement plans. But the economic boom that would result and the potentially lower consumer prices would probably offset their injury. Government costs would go down. Conformance costs for corporations would go down. I can see little to no downside to this except for us not punishing the evil rich for all their money making ways.

So far, it sounds good. I've even bookmarked the link you gave to that website so I can study it further.:-P
I think the problem *I* have with it so far is it just sounds too simple.:-) ...and in this society, we're used to having things difficult: our taxes, IRS, paper work....

Wouldn't individuals who try to improve their social and economic standing be hurt by this? The wealthy already have all vast luxuries they could ever want, while most of the middle and lower class populations spend mostly on essentials. If, for instance, Bob gets a better job and can finally afford the boat he has wanted for the last 10 years, he wil be taxed for buying that boat, whereas the rich already have their boats, planes, etc.

Since the wealthy typically save more (and already have more) then the average citizen, wouldn’t the fairtax still be somewhat overburdening to the rising lower/middle class?

It seems to me like a way to keep social classes frozen where they are with the rich always rich and the poor always poor.

Just a thought...

Outside of that issue though, the fairtax does sound like a better plan than the current income tax!

"whereas the rich already have their boats, planes, etc.'

I see what you're saying, (and maybe I'm about to sound like a complete idiot here because I don't fully understand all this myself) but the rich are the ones buying new things too...new funiture, new decor (like paintings that cost a good couple hundred if not a couple of thousand dollars) and they're also the ones remodeling and adding on to their homes. Not to mention, they're the idiots (of course, it is their right to do this if they want but...) who usually go out and buy their children a brand spankin' new $50,000 car just for turning 16 or at least for graduating high school. So, yeah, it is true that the rich know how to save and invest properly (although, it doesn't sound like such things as mutual bonds, etc would be taxed) and that's why they *remain* rich, BUT they are the ones who can actually *afford* to make those big purchases too. After all, the more you make,...the more you spend.:-)

First off, a middle class guy will most liekly buy that boat used, and used boats won't be taxed. Second, essentials are not taxed. The majority of all non-essential consumer goods are purchased by the upper middle and the upper class, and by another group: teenagers.

Trust me, rich people spend more money than you think.

I've already said this, but I'll say it again: my parents combined income is 80-100k per year depending upon overtime. Under the current tax system, my parents pay a large chunk of that to taxes. We have basically no disposable income. Under the fair tax (and I'm not going to get into the numbers because it's boring and complicated to do so) we would over night, develop a large amount of disposable income. So, yes, we'd pay taxes, but as a middle class family, we'll pay less. But on the other hand, I have friends who make 7 figures. Their house costs 3 times more than my family's combined yearly income (4 people.) They spend as much in a year as my family makes and they pay an ungodly sum of money in taxes (7 figures) because their income comes from their small business, so they have to pay for employee's social security matching benefits and other payroll taxes. Under this tax plan they would be able to lower their rates to atract more business since there would be not corporate income tax (though corporate supplies would be taxed), this would mean hiring more people, but, because they spend gobs of money they'd still pay gobs of taxes.

Also, over time, prices will come down due to competitive pressures and the relief of the corporate tax burden which adds at much as 30-40% to consumer prices. So Joe may be able to get a nicer boat after saving for 10 years because the boat will be cheaper, and he might be making more money and he won't be paying his butt in taxes.

Plsu government costs go down as prices go down. Government contract costs will go down. No more IRS, so costs go down. So the government overall needs to take in less money. (not to mentiont hat this tax is engineered in such a way as to maintiain current government income levels.