Re: Bush to eliminate IRS and replace income tax with a national sales tax

From: Rue The Day (ruetheday_at_outgun.com)
Date: 08/04/04 

Date: 3 Aug 2004 19:24:36 -0700

royls@telus.net wrote in message news:<41100dae.14629080@news.telus.net>...
> On 3 Aug 2004 14:28:15 -0700, ruetheday@outgun.com (Rue The Day)
> wrote:
>
> >http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39762
> >
> >Apparently, this is Bush's big plan for his second term.
> >
> >Personally, I think the idea of a national sales tax is silly.
>
> The main advantage, economically, is that it allows some of the excess
> burden of taxation to be exported.

I was thinking more along the lines that a national sales tax would be
regressive, would choke consumer spending, and would almost certainly
result in the creation of an enormous black market for avoiding the
tax.

> >However, I welcome the opening up of serious public discussion on the
> >complete replacement of the current income tax system with something
> >better. I think that this is the opportunity of a lifetime for
> >Georgists. Get the public and the politicians to agree that the
> >current tax system is broken and evil and that it must be replaced.
>
> There will be no point unless they can be made to understand _why_ it
> is broken and evil.

That shouldn't be too difficult.

> >Once the momentum for change has been gathered, it's just a matter of
> >convincing people that the solution is not a national sales tax, but
> >rather, a national Land Value Tax.
>
> Apportioned among the states by population, in order not to require a
> constitutional amendment?

Supporters of the national sales tax are calling for the repeal of the
16th amendment to ensure that the sales tax does not get enacted in
_addition_ to the federal income tax. Presumably, this would also
require a new amendment. There's no reason why that amendment
couldn't grant the authority to tax land and would include the,
"without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to
any census or enumeration" clause.