"Lonny B" wrote
You should actually READ the national sales tax proposal.

I have read a lot of it.

... It includes a
monthly rebate to all citizens for taxes paid on necessities of life.

And you think that's a good thing? As good as being able to keep your
money in your own pocket in the first place?


There are many other provisions that make it the only fair way to go,
IMHO.

Why?
Nothing about it strikes me as fair, and it's rife with opportunities
for corruption. It is the gov't sticking it's hand into th ewallet of
every person, every business, in every single transaction throughout the
land. It is as good as a proclamation that all money belongs to the
gov't, they just let you keep a little of it temporarily.

The worst thing about the VAT system is that it strangles economic growth.


... The current system is not working.

Agreed. But it would be instructive to look at how our current tax
system got the way it is. We started off with very sensible and fair
(IMHO) taxes, then the gov't needed more money so they jacked them up...
then people gave money to their representatives to get special
exceptions for themselves & their business, which got written into the
laws. Now we have literally tens of thousands of pages of tax law.

The problems are not so much with the tax system itself but with the use
of it as a patronage system.

And will Congress give up this patronage? I doubt it very much, and if a
VAT is passed it will become the same sort of multi-headed python, for
the same reason. Congress likes it perks, & it likes screwing over the
average citizen so as to hand favors to it's pals.

Another implication of our current system, which the gov't very much
enjoys, is that *everyone* is always in violation of something or other.
This represents a wonderful way to exercise political power.


... However, many lawyers and
accountants make their living off of the complex system under which we
currently operate.

And I suppose the administration of a VAT system does not require hardly
any bureaucracy at all? I think you should take a closer look.


katysails wrote:
Jewelry counts as a necessity, right?

Yes, of course. So does sailing gear. And everybody should get a free
gallon of epoxy resin, once a month...

Fresh Breezes- Doug King