Posted by
SoCal FairTax on Monday, November 10, 2008 3:54:58 PM
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It is good that alternative tax systems are being discussed. An even better alternative than what Robert Frank suggests in his 11/8 article is called the FairTax which is already a bill that has been introduced in congress.
The key to raising prosperity in our nation is to attract business and jobs back to our lands – not through altering free markets via personal and corporate welfare. Business and jobs are attracted by creating an environment that allows businesses to offer U.S.-made products and services to end consumers at globally competitive prices. So what would have the greatest impact on costs that get priced into domestically produced goods and services?
- Payroll Taxes (Social Security and Medicare) raise costs to companies who employ workers.
- Corporate Taxes must be priced into products/services when seeking after-tax profits.
- Tax compliance (Corp, Payroll, Employee Personal withholdings, etc.) is also a cost that every U.S. business must bear (and price into end products).
Ultimately, end consumers bear the burden of corporate and payroll taxes as well as tax compliance.
One of the biggest sleight-of-hand tricks is to suggest that raising corporate taxes is somehow compassionate to workers and the middle class. Raise taxes on oil companies for instance and we all know what happens to the price of gas at the pump. Corporations don’t pay taxes. They just pass them on to the consumer.
Some of our nation’s top economists have determined that without Payroll and Corporate taxes, the average price of U.S.-made goods and services could come down by 22%.
Consider this for a moment…
If U.S.-made goods and services could be offered to end consumers (domestically and abroad) for 22% less, would our products compete better globally? It doesn’t take an economist to figure this one out.
Once we level the playing field some, domestically we can add the tax back at the point-of-sale which applies to both U.S.-made and imported products alike.
From a “keeping jobs in America” you can’t beat the FairTax! More jobs = more prosperity = more disposable income = more consumption = more revenues to our federal government. Rather than have a vicious downward cycle, we reverse current trends and go up for a change!
Considering also that the FairTax invites $12+ trillion to repatriate back to our lands by completely eliminating Capital Gains and Estate Taxes, the timeline for investment in the U.S.A. would be months… not years!
There are many other key benefits to the FairTax that are worth mentioning. Here are a few.
1. Income earners will receive 100% of their gross earnings (assuming States follow suit by eliminating personal income tax obligations).
2. All consumption taxes paid on consumption at or below the poverty-level are untaxed via the monthly prebate provision.
3. Spreads the tax burden among all who consume within our lands – not just those of us who file tax returns.
4. Liberates households and (many businesses) from having to file income tax returns
In Summary, by replacing the Income Tax, Corporate Tax, Payroll Tax, Capital Gains Tax, and Estate Tax with the FairTax (national retail sales tax) we will attract business, investment, jobs, and prosperity back to our lands and create prosperity for all.
For more information please visit www.fairtax.org.