Final-Fan said:
There are all kinds of "special" sales tax rates today. Food & clothing are not taxed but sometimes they are but at a discount; some things get taxed more; etc. etc. IMO it is foolish to believe that manufacturers, sellers, and major users of various products would not push for special tax rates on retail items related to whatever their area of interest is. I'm positive, in fact, that there are sales-tax-related schemes the human mind has not yet dreamt of that would be proposed not five minutes after people see huge consequences or advantages to their pocketbooks. IMO the FairTax would actually worsen these problems as businesses are (quite naturally) the best at coldly doing what is best for their own finances ... including lobbying for special-interest tax cuts. Average Joe isn't out there bugging Senator Spendsalot for a tax break on beer guts. |
HR 25, which is the Fair Tax bill, isn’t written like that. There is no flexibility and amendment process to add a loophole. In other words, and I will state this in all caps that way I don’t run the risk of understating it, TAX LOBBYIST WILL LOSE THEIR JOBS. It all comes down to one number, the effective tax rate, and currently HR 25 has it at 23%, and that effective tax rate is the only thing that can be changed, but I'd like to see how congress could do that without pissing off the American public.
This is the reason that the prebate exists. Food, cloths, shelter, and medicine will be taxed at the effective rate. The prebate is to give everyone that tax money up to the poverty line. So all basic needs will go untaxed, up to the poverty line. If you get more than you need then you will be taxed.
@Final-Fan:
You seem to doubt the numbers pretty strongly. Remember this bill has already been written by mathematicians, economist, and statisticians (note: Notice how this list excludes corrupt congressmen, senators, and politicians) who were given a lot of money and resources for research. The numbers work and are proven to be sound in theory. Debating the revenue neutrality is a weak position since you will have to do millions of dollars of research before you can even offer an educated opinion.
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