The FairTax, Join in!

[Final-Fan]

Andir said:

Final-Fan said:

 

This thread has touched on a couple other subjects but always returned to the issue at hand. I've made small comments on those (which Eomund actually brought up in the first place by the way).

[edit:  posted this before I saw that Greer was leaving the thread.  Please pretend that the following is directed at Eomund.]

Ah, so [edit: are you] saying that people are calling "cost of compliance" a "hidden tax"[?]  First of all, I would have to see the evidence that it actually amounts to 22%, and to know what precisely it is 22% of, and especially see whether the 22% of (whatever) is equal to 23% of (the tax-inclusive price of all new retail sales in the U.S.*) AKA 30% of all new retail sales in the U.S.*

Then I would like to know how much the cost of compliance for the FairTax will be, and if you say "Zero" I will LOL. Don't forget the cost of administering the prebate system as well.

*Including, as I recall, houses; rent; mortgages and other debt/interest payments; medical bills; gas; and all sorts of interesting things.

I already posted one source for this 22% number:

"In 2005 individuals, businesses and non-profits will spend an estimated 6 billion hours complying with the federal income tax code, with an estimated compliance cost of over $265.1 billion. This amounts to imposing a 22-cent tax compliance surcharge for every dollar the income tax system collects. Projections show that by 2015 the compliance cost will grow to $482.7 billion." - www.taxfoundation.org/files/sr138.pdf

That $482.7 billion split between the 300,000,000 people in the US would amount to $1625 per person.  Of course, businesses, accountants and taxlawyers make up a huge chunk of this.

I have a feeling that with everyone one of your posts you will never be happy until someone creates a 300,000,000 page document detailing how much every person in America will be saving and or spending with the new tax vs the old.  Even then, you will still be unhappy as it will probably come from someone who is pro "Fair Tax".  I've obtained one piece of information from this thread.  You will never be happy with any explaination, and will do no leg work on your own to find answers to the questions you have.  You want to be spoon fed a number that you think is good and only then you will be happy.

Yes, thank you for the reminder is on what the 22% figure is. I kinda thought someone had mentioned that, but I had to leave work and forgot to check it when I got home. For the moment I will assume the number quoted is true, though I reserve the right to investigate this number further. That is 22% of the INCOME TAX revenues of the U.S. So [edit: your assertion] that the FairTax, which is supposed to be a revenue-neutral replacement for the income tax (or a revenue-neutral replacement for all current taxes?) is actually equal to 22% of the income tax revenue is a logical/mathematical contradiction. If X is equal to Y, then X cannot also equal 22% of Y. (That is, if X and Y are nonzero, which taxes are.) As for the rest, claiming that no amount of evidence will satisfy me seems to be a very convenient reason for declining to provide any evidence at all.