Do you consider this fair? Why or why not?

Question

All people in a given area, whether rich or poor, pay the same sales tax on products they purchase. Do you consider this fair? Why or why not?

Answer 1

The sales tax is the most fair tax of all. If you are rich, you buy more and therefore pay more taxes. If you are poor, you don't pay as many taxes because you can't buy. This of course relies on the current tax laws which exempt staples (food, water, etc) from sales taxes.

I would support a national sales tax and have the income tax and all deductions stopped.

Answer 2

Yes this is fair. If both (rich and poor) person are buying the same item....for example a mailbox...the price is the same for the item...why should the rich person pay more for it. One would assume if they were buying an item like a car...the rich person would be able to purchase a higher priced car...say a Lexus...and the poorer person may buy more of an economy car. Even though they are paying the same percentage of sales tax. The tax on the higher priced automobile will in essence be more because the sticker price of the car is more. That is when the wealther person is paying more per say...even though the tax rate is the same.

Answer 3

Yes, it is fair. You are paying a tax on a product. It is the same product whether it is bought by Jack Rich or Joe Poor. It has the same value. Why would you want Jack Rich to pay more in a sales tax for the same valued product? And how would the shopkeeper find out how much Jack was worth anyway? Will we all be required to carry a type of ID giving our monetary worth? I think I may have more questions for you than you do for us.

Answer 4

It HAS to be fair whether you agree or disagree. How would you have people distinguish themselves at the checkout counter? Have them show proof of ID for their income class? That wouldn't work! Folks already think Big Brother is in their business too much. Next thing you know, folks are robbing the poor for their "Tax ID Card"! The only way to help the poor in this situation is to lower the sales tax but then the local economy suffers because their aren't enough tax revenues to keep the city going. Next thing you know, the city is in the red and raising taxes and cutting social programs intended to help the poor! Welfare (aka Food Stamps and other assistance) exist for those below the median income to off set things like taxes and cost of living increases (to include increases in food and goods). Bottom line is that the rich pay more taxes through their payroll deductions. These taxes (whether the Gov't uses them correctly or not) are what goes to pay for things like welfar, social assitance programs, job training, and other programs.

Economics is about balancing the economy. We all can't be Alan Greenspan.

just my 2 cents!

Answer 5

A sales tax system on goods and services is an across the board tax. The rich pay far more property taxes than the poor, and people who rent apartments pay no property taxes at all. Therefore, the middle class and the wealthy pay the preponderance of property taxes (which funds public education in this country, among other things), so they shouldn't be expected to pay more in sales tax.

Answer 6

Yes this is fair but would they only pay a sales tax and not any income tax, because everybody who lives in the same area already pays the same sales tax

Answer 7

I think it is fair. The rate may be the same, but in the long run those who have more do pay more in sales tax because they spend more.

It would be hard to regulate sales tax at multiple levels.

Answer 8

No, I guess it is not fair, since tax ideally should be relative to your personal income and not applied at the same rate across the board. I think you have a very good point which is worth exploring further. One could argue this is not based on equality at all, since those who are wealthy have an unfair advantage over those who are less wealthy.

Answer 9

Yes, it's fair.

Everyone chooses what they do for a living. So, essentially, they choose how much they make. They also choose what they purchase, and how much they are willing to spend on it.

If I choose to buy a $1,000 couch from a store versus one from a garage sale for $100, I choose to pay sales tax on that store-purchased couch.

Answer 10

Yes it's fair. Rich people have to pay more taxes on their homes and such. Poor people get support from the government, their insurance, charities, and people in general. So, it equals out.