Poll: Do you want the FairTax to be enacted?

Question

The FairTax is a bill in congress that would eliminate all federal taxes and replace them all with a 23% national sales tax. A rebate is issued to everyone for the calculated amount of taxes spent on the basic necessities of life.

This isn't a crazy bill that will never happen. This bill has 60 cosponsors in the house of representatives.

This bill is not a 30% tax, it is a 23% tax.

Please give a yes or no answer and a reason for your choice.

Where are you guys getting this 30% rate? I've researched this. It is only 23%!

I now understand the 30% rate.

Answer 1

Absolutely. It would be 23%, as it an inclusive tax. it would replace the imbedded taxes(aprox. 22.5%) that are now included in the price of everything we buy at the retail level. Some question if this is true, as they wonder if the elimination of the corporate taxes would actualy reduce the price by that 23%.. I am sure that a few companies will try and keep that 23% for themselves, but as soon as a well run company realizes that they would gain a huge market share by passing the savings on, all other companies in that market would be forced to do the same. with the system that we have now, sales taxes are levied in an exclisive manner.....meaning the sales tax is levied on top of the price marked on any item. With a six percent sales tax, a $1.00 item ends up costing $1.06. Under the fair tax, that same item would be still be priced at $1.00, but that price would include the 23% federal tax. Granted there would still be state sales taxes on that price, but by implementing the fair tax, your pay check would not be reduced in any way by the federal government.
Remember, there is not a single company in the U.S. that pays taxes out of their coffers. Instead they pass ALL taxes on to the consumer......this is true in all businesses. As a painting contractor, I pass my entire tax burden on to my customers, and this includes my personal income tax, and my matching share of payroll deductions for my employees as well.
Right now, the U.S. has the second highest corporate taxes in the world. This is the reason that many corporations move their headquarters over seas. They do this to keep their prices competitive. Imagine the economic boom that the U.S. would realize if we eliminated the corporate tax burden from the consumer. We would become the place in the world that corporations would want to be located.

Answer 2

No.

It wouldn't for multiple reasons discussed on this and many other message boards.

Yes....and it is a 30% tax.....not 23%.

Edit-

They get the 23% by taking the tax divided by the total price not the pre-tax price. For example:

$1000 Cost of Item A
$ 300 "Fair"tax
$1300 Final Cost

If you take the tax divided by the final cost you get just over 23% ($300 / $1300 = 23.077%). This is how they come up with the 23% figure but, as anyone familiar with sales taxes would tell you, it is a 30% tax. Just one of the many little things the proponents of the Fairtax really don't want people to know.

Economists whom have looked at the Fairtax have concluded that people making over $200,000 per year would pay less under the Fairtax and everyone else would pay more.

Just calling it "Fair" does not make it so.

Answer 3

It is a real bill that would destroy America. The actual rate is 30%, they do NOT rebate your necessities--they TELL you what you SHOULD spend and then "prebate" that. For all the elderly ill on Medicare they will ALL end up on Medicaid--or dead from lack of care.

While an economist COULD design a good consumption tax, one that does NOT exclude necessities is going to hit the poorest, hardest.

There is NOTHING in the legislation proposed to stop the feds from thrusting more of their unfunded mandates on the state level. There is NOTHING to prevent a hike from the actual 30T (something that is $1 is $1.30 under the plan; they want to pretend that is 23%--creative math doesn't cut it in the real world.) It will NOT have any effect of the taxes on the price of gas, etc.
[And the 23 percent figure is itself a matter of hot dispute. In effect, what costs $1.00 now would, under the new tax, cost $1.30. How is that not a 30 percent tax? Proponents argue that the extra 30 cents is merely 23 percent of the final price of $1.30. Jewish World Review Dec. 18, 2007 / 9 Teves 5768
Huckabee vs. taxes: No match
By Clarence Page ]


So what you get is at minimum a 20% increase (after prebates) in the cost of food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and your utility bills. What a GIFT for the working poor!

Just as Satan's AMT tax was created in the '70s to SUPPOSEDLY tax about 150 folks who were able to avoid taxes and NOW ensnares tens or hundreds of thousands of middle-class taxpayers, EVERY attempt at class warfare will ALWAYS hurt the working poor the hardest. The rich will NOT end up paying this--there ARE ways around it for them.

Answer 4

NO! And yes, I've looked through the fairtax.org website, and read N. Boortz's book. And the prebate isn't, by the way, based on the cost of the "basic necessities of life" (can you imagine just who would get to decide what those are, and how that would be decided?) - it's based on the dollar amount for poverty level.

I'd probably pay less under this plan than I do today. My kids, working parents, would pay considerably more.

The working poor would pay much more - sure, they'd get the prebate, but would lose credits like EIC and Additional Child Tax Credit. Much of the middle class would pay more. The rich would get a real nice break. And they call that "fair?"

Answer 5

Yes, and No.

Compared to our current system, I'd certainly prefer the Fair Tax.

However, I'd much rather have a Flat Tax.

The Fair Tax is a great idea.. in theory. It makes total sense on paper, but I think it lacks a certain degree of stability. A large enough group of people could hold a mass boycott in an attempt to cut off tax revenue to the government, and in turn have the whole system spiral out of control.

Answer 6

Yes, and the sooner the better. I come out good on this, so I must be one of the 'rich' ones.

I'm, single, self-employed, have no house and I gross about $15K a year (hey, what can I say? I'm a musician :-). I did the FairTax calculator, and my true purchasing power with the current system is about $10,688, after taxes. Under the Fair Tax system, it would be about $12,053. So, with the Fair Tax, I would get: 12.76% MORE spendable income. $1,364.66 MORE purchasing power, and $1,537.96 LESS federal taxes! My effective tax rate would fall from almost 19.66% to 9.41%.

I'm not getting how the poor are hit so hard with this, unless those who argue that it does consider me part of the "wealthy" class. Hmmmm... something tells me those opposed to this have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are. My guess is those who are saying no are H&R block employees, accountants, special interest lobbyists and those interested in creating a socialist state.

The intellectually honest are not opposed to this. Even the NRF is coming around to the idea that this makes sound economic sense, and would be a huge boon for retailers.

Answer 7

This is just as complicated as filing a 1040A. It won't get rid of the IRS, won't change congress' behavoir of spend, spend, spend and will leave a cottage industry to collect those "rebates."

It will be unfair to the middle class. The middle class will get hit with the full 23% sales tax (in addition to state and local taxes) and will lose the tax exempt benefits of Roth IRAs and municipal bonds.

Answer 8

YES!!
Everybody needs to read the Fair Tax book, before you make an opinion. I wonder how many negative posters have actually done their research. It just seems like common sense to me. Too many benefits to post-read the book.

Answer 9

it helps the rich......punishes the poor.........NOPE..........