Saturday, August 8, 2015

Fair Tax on Consumption


I have problems with the Fair Tax. Social Security was a Ponzi scheme that should be paid out and apologized for. It should have been set up as a self-directed, private retirement plan. Younger citizens need to be able to set up these accounts to triple their returns. They would own the accounts and should be able to pass the accounts on to their families with no inheritance tax.  If it’s a sales tax, then would internet sales be taxed ?  It produces half measures that move us to a collectivist state. It is designed to enrich business and the federal government and remove all traces of retirement account ownership by citizens.
 
We need to change campaign finance so that politicians can only receive contributions from the voters.  Then we need to cut corporate and individual income taxes and gut all subsidies and corporate welfare loop-holes from the tax code.  Then we need to abolish all unconstitutional departments, agencies and programs in the federal government.  Government is broke and needs to shrink and pay its debts. -  Norb Leahy
 
See FAQs below
 
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the Social Security system affected? Like all federal spending programs, Social Security operates exactly as it does today, except that its funds come from a broad, progressive sales tax, rather than a narrow, regressive payroll tax. Employers continue to report wages for each employee, though, to the Social Security Administration for the determination of benefits. The transition to a reformed Social Security system is eased while ensuring there is sufficient funding to continue promised benefits.

Meanwhile, Social Security/Medicare funds are no longer triple-taxed as under the current system: 1) when payroll taxes are initially withheld; 2) when those withheld payroll taxes are counted as part of the taxable base for income tax purposes; and 3) when the promised benefits are finally received.
Is there any provision in the FAIR tax bill to prevent both an income tax and a sales tax?
The short answer is that there is no provision in the Fair Tax bill (HR 25) that would prevent having a national sales tax and the income tax. However, the Fair Tax legislation does three things that effectively dismantle the income tax: (1) it abolishes the IRS, (2) it repeals all statutory language having to do with taxing income and payroll (i.e., the Internal Revenue Code), and (3) it eliminates the filing of annual income tax returns to the federal government for over 140 million Americans. The 16th Amendment does not “require” an income tax, it only “allows” one, and the Fair Tax will have broken that egg in a million pieces. It would be extremely difficult to put that egg “back together again.” Once the Fair Tax is enacted it would be an extremely daunting task for Congress to make people start filing income tax returns again. There would be a public uproar. Once the American public has experienced the freedom from filing income tax returns it’s hard to imagine them tolerating going back.

Furthermore, the sponsors of the Fair Tax are totally dedicated to the permanent repeal of the income tax. No current supporter of the Fair Tax would support the Fair Tax unless the entire income tax is repealed. There is a separate bill, HJR 16, which repeals the 16th Amendment to the Constitution but it must go through a different adoption process than HR 25. HJR 16 has to be passed by a two-thirds vote of members of both the House and the Senate and be approved (or ratified) by three-fourths of state legislatures (38). We are currently laying the organizational groundwork for this push and have already started the educational process at the state level.

Finally, the reality is that we already have both an income and a type of sales tax today. All of our U.S. produced goods and services are burdened with an “embedded” tax due to the cascading of income and payroll taxes paid by U.S. employers to the U.S. Treasury at every step of production. Of course, these costs are passed on to the ultimate payer, the customer. It’s fair to call these embedded taxes a “sales tax” because we pay it every time we buy any goods or services — we just don’t see it. The Fair Tax eliminates these embedded taxes, resulting in a single-rate national sales tax visible to all.
Is the FAIRtax progressive? Do the rich pay more and the poor pay less as a percentage of their spending?
Absolutely, as you can see below — where the graph shows annual expenditures for a family of four and the corresponding Fair Tax effective tax rates. The poor actually pay less than zero-percent retail sales tax on their spending. Much like with the earned income tax credit of today, the prebate may give them more money than they actually spend on retail taxes. Especially if they are frugal and buy mostly used products. On the other hand, the wealthy approach a maximum of 23-percent retail sales tax on their spending.
- See more at:
https://fairtax.org/faq#sthash.wf69DgNl.dpuf
Since business purchases are not taxable, how does the FAIR tax keep individuals from pretending to have a business so they can buy things tax-free?
The Fair Tax has several features that make it difficult and very risky for persons to have a scam business in order to purchase items tax free. First, in order for any person to purchase items tax free for business purposes, the business has to be a registered seller and possess a registered seller certificate issued by the state sales tax authority. Registered sellers are expected to file monthly or quarterly sales tax returns with the state (depending on sales volume). The certificate enables the business to purchase tax free from wholesale vendors, but the vendor must retain a copy of the registration certificate to justify not having collected tax on the sale. When a business purchases items for business use from a retail vendor, they have to pay the tax on the purchase and take a credit against the tax due on their monthly sales tax return. They must keep invoices/receipts to document what they purchased and the amount of the purchase. They might also make note of the purpose of the purchase on the invoice.

Also, as registered sellers, they are subject to the possibility of being audited by the state. During such an audit, they will have to produce the invoices for all the “business purchases” that they did not pay sales tax on and will have to be able to show that they were bona fide business expenses. If they cannot prove this, then they will have to pay the taxes that should have been paid when the items were purchased, plus interest and penalties. The probability of being audited will be much greater than it is under the current system with its over 140 million tax filers. Under the FairTax, there will be less than 20 million businesses that will be filing sales tax returns and thus subject to the possibility of being audited. Thus, the probability of tax cheats getting caught will be much greater than it is today, making tax evasion riskier than it is today. Additionally, while the FairTax has much stronger taxpayer rights than does the current tax system, the FairTax legislation provides for a number of fines and penalties for noncompliance. It also authorizes a mechanism for reporting tax cheats and obtaining a reward. An example would be 1-800-TAX-CHET.

Another potential scam would be to have a “fake” family business in order to buy things for family members tax free. The FairTax has a specific provision to prevent this. Although it does not prohibit businesses from providing taxable property or services as gifts, prizes, rewards, or as remuneration for employment, the gift, reward, etc. is considered to be the conversion of property or services from business use to personal use and is therefore taxable. Likewise, there is a similar provision to prevent abuse of employee discounts. Under the FairTax, employer-provided employee discounts over 20 percent are taxable. The term “employee discount” means an employer’s offer of taxable property or services for sale to its employees or their families for less than the offer of such taxable property or services to the general public. If the employee discount amount exceeds 20 percent of the price to the general public, then the sale of such taxable property or services by the employer to the employee is considered the conversion of property or services to personal use and is subject to tax. The taxable amount is the amount by which the discount exceeds 20 percent of the price to the general public.
I know the FAIR tax rate is 23 percent when compared to current income taxes. What will the rate of the sales tax be at the retail counter?
30 percent. This issue is often confusing, so we explain more here.

When income tax rates are quoted, economists call that a tax-inclusive quote: “I paid 23 percent last year.” For every $100 earned, $23 went to Uncle Sam. Or, “I had to make $130 to have $100 to spend.” That’s a 23-percent tax-inclusive rate.

We choose to compare the Fair Tax to income taxes, quoting the rate the same way, because the Fair Tax replaces such taxes. That rate is 23 percent.

Sales taxes, on the other hand, are generally quoted tax exclusive: “I bought a $77 shirt and had to pay that same $23 in sales tax.” This is a 30-percent sales tax. Or, “I spent a dollar, 77¢ for the product and 23¢ in tax.” This rate, when programmed into a point-of-purchase terminal, is 30 percent.

Note that no matter which way it is quoted, the amount of tax is the same. Under an income tax rate of 23 percent, you have to earn $130 to spend $100.

Spend that same $100 under a sales tax, you pay that same tax of $30, and the rate is quoted as 30 percent.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two is that under the income tax, controlling the amount of tax you pay is a complex nightmare. Under the Fair Tax, you may simply choose not to spend, or to spend less.
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What will we experience in the transition from the income tax to the Fair Tax?
Everyone will have to think about taxes in a different way. Income — what we earn — no longer has to be documented, measured, and tracked for tax purposes. The only relevant measure of our tax liability is the amount we choose to spend on final, discretionary consumption. Tax-related issues are suddenly a lot simpler and more straightforward than they used to be. The aggravation and anxiety associated with “April 15th ” disappears forever after passage of the Fair Tax. The Fair Tax is not new — most Americans come into contact with sales taxes daily, since 45 states currently use them to collect state revenues. It is easier to switch from an income tax to the Fair Tax system than it is to switch from gallons to liters, or from feet to meters! Of course, those who depend on the structure and complexity of our current system (e.g., tax lobbyists, tax preparers, and tax shelter promoters) will have to find more productive economic pursuits. However, everyone will have enough advance notice to adjust to the new system.

Job creation booms. Residential real estate booms. Financial services boom. Exports boom. Retail prospers. Farming and ranching prosper. Churches and charities prosper. Civil liberties are enhanced. In short, it is difficult to imagine the far-reaching, positive effects of this change. Though this tax policy is exactly what our Founding Fathers counseled us to do with the Federalist Papers and the Constitution.
What about value-added taxes (VATs), like they have in Europe and Canada? Are they not consumption taxes?
While VATs are also consumption taxes, and better than income taxes, the Fair Tax is not a VAT. A VAT works very differently. It taxes every stage of production. It is much more complex and is typically hidden from the retail consumer. Second, in industrialized countries that have a VAT, it coexists with high-rate income tax, payroll, and many other taxes that, in some instances, have led to marginal tax rates as high as 70 percent. Third, all other industrialized countries, except Australia and Japan, have a much larger tax burden than the U.S., which requires higher rates and makes tax administration much more difficult. Lastly, a VAT is a lobbyist’s dream, allowing them to install their loopholes unbeknownst to the purchaser. A retail sales tax, in contrast, is a lobbyist’s nightmare, applied as it is under the bright lights of the retail counter.
Why is it necessary to have a constitutional amendment?
It is not the intention of this plan, or the desire of the American people, to end up with both a federal income tax and a federal sales tax. The objective is to ensure that one is replaced by the other, not added on top of the other. By repealing the 16th Amendment with companion legislation, we close the door on an income tax for generations to come. Further, the FAIR tax legislation has a seven year sunset clause to ensure Congress accomplishes repeal of the 16th Amendment.
 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Good article!


The Fair Tax® (FT) is a Progressive Scam – we need a 10% “Tithe” Tax!
for supporting details see Website: http://sceldridge.wix.com/sceldridge - Stephen C. Eldridge tel. 423-532-7337.