$1000 to register an electric vehicle ???

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by JSH

No, they won’t. Not unless you apply a sales tax to investments. The wealthy don’t spend their whole income like lower income people. They invest much of it. They also spend a lot more of their money outside of the USA.

Last year my wife and I paid 22% in total taxes, invested 51%, and lived on 27%. We are comfortable within the top 10% of households but nowhere near the top 1%.

If the wealthy are investing, then it benefits everyone because investments are what build everything. When they finally do spend the money they've invested, it will be taxed. Most wealth doesn't survive more than 1 generation of descendants; evidence that it gets spent.

The sales tax would need to apply to all sales including foreign transactions. I don't know how to accomplish this, but I'm sure there's ways.

Probably the government should develop an official (traceable) distributed ledger currency that all transactions must be made in. People could still trade in gold and other valuable goods, but it at least makes laundering money more difficult.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

If the wealthy are investing, then it benefits everyone because investments are what build everything. When they finally do spend the money they've invested, it will be taxed. Most wealth doesn't survive more than 1 generation of descendants; evidence that it gets spent.

The sales tax would need to apply to all sales including foreign transactions. I don't know how to accomplish this, but I'm sure there's ways.

Probably the government should develop an official (traceable) distributed ledger currency that all transactions must be made in. People could still trade in gold and other valuable goods, but it at least makes laundering money more difficult.

This assumes the money is invested in the USA and spent in the USA. 80% of the global economy is outside of the USA.

There is no way that you can collect US sales tax on money that I'm spending in another country. The US just gave up trying to collect income taxes earned abroad and that is way easier than trying to collect sales tax.

The FairTax is a pipedream. Even the supporters basically admit that as they say it would require the repeal of the 16th Amendment.

[redpoint5]

I'm not familiar with FairTax, only my own thoughts on the matter.

Perhaps income tax will always be the better solution, but it at least needs to drop the thousands of special interest exemptions. A deduction for missing an eyeball?

The only reason I suggest a federal sales tax is that it seems to be successful at the state level, considering most have it. If only 5 states favor an income tax over a sales tax, why would sales tax be preferred given the disadvantages you mention?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I'm not familiar with FairTax, only my own thoughts on the matter.

Perhaps income tax will always be the better solution, but it at least needs to drop the thousands of special interest exemptions. A deduction for missing an eyeball?

The only reason I suggest a federal sales tax is that it seems to be successful at the state level, considering most have it. If only 5 states favor an income tax over a sales tax, why would sales tax be preferred given the disadvantages you mention?

On the Federal level I think we should:

1. Eliminate Income tax deductions, rebates, and credits. All of them
2. Tax all income the same.
3. Drop corporate income taxes because in the end the customer pays them. Corporate earnings should be taxed when it is distributed to investors or if companies try to take the money outside of the USA.
4. Add a Federal sales tax.

The vast majority of states have a combination of sales, property and income tax. Only 5 states do not have a general sales tax and only 7 do not have an income tax. That is pretty balanced.

[redpoint5]

That all sounds pretty good to me.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

The only reason I suggest a federal sales tax is that it seems to be successful at the state level, considering most have it. If only 5 states favor an income tax over a sales tax, why would sales tax be preferred given the disadvantages you mention?

Because it sounds fair while still being regressive. Murricans eat that up.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Because it sounds fair while still being regressive. Murricans eat that up.

I don't really see a connection between progressive and "fair".

If anything "fair" would fall between the continuum of progressive and regressive. At the extremes, a progressive plan would have the wealthiest paying all taxes, with the poorest paying nothing, or even getting money back. Regressive would be opposite, with the poorest paying all the taxes, and the wealthiest paying nothing.

Somewhere between those extremes "fair" would be found.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I don't really see a connection between progressive and "fair".

If anything "fair" would fall between the continuum of progressive and regressive. At the extremes, a progressive plan would have the wealthiest paying all taxes, with the poorest paying nothing, or even getting money back. Regressive would be opposite, with the poorest paying all the taxes, and the wealthiest paying nothing.

Somewhere between those extremes "fair" would be found.

Progressive = the more you make the greater the percentage of your income you pay in taxes.
Regressive = the more you make the lower the percentage of your income you pay in taxes.

The USA we tend to have more of a bell curve. It starts off with negative tax rates, steadily increases, and then tax rates start tapering off. That is how we end up with Warren Buffett paying a 17% tax rate while his staff pays 36%

[redpoint5]

The taper isn't automatic, but a function of the corrupt tax laws. A person must carefully invest to avoid the taxes. Our tax rates as listed are progressive throughout the rate structure. It's only things like $7,500 tax credits to buy a new car that end up making things regressive.

[Xist]

1. Change the law so that the IRS can release its own tax software. If it is not as good as TurboTax and H&R Block it won't be a threat.
2. Have the IRS send out yearly statements saying how much taxpayers owe or are owed and people are free to use TurboTax, H&R Block, Arthur Everest, or Crazy Uncle Larry to audit the IRS.
3. Keep track of how much tax specific tax codes are used each year. This particular code applied to exactly zero people in 2020? Make it easy to get rid of them.
4. ????
5. Profit?

Oh yeah:
6. Mandate that all transactions be rounded to the nearest nickel.