-=> Quoting Robert Craft to Walter Luffman <=-
 RC> It seems to me that the sales tax is inherently
 RC> inflationary. For example, can you imagine financing a car
 RC> with an added 23% sales tax?
I pay cash (I'm not rich, I just save for a long time
between cars), and I can't even imagine paying 23 percent
on a cash sale.  Twenty-three percent on a loan contract?
No, thank you!
Could be that we'd get a break on certain big-ticket
"necessities" such as cars and homes -- no tax on the
first X-thousand dollars of the cost.  Tennessee does that
on the sales tax for automobiles now, and I'd imagine
other states offer similar breaks on some items.  But
that could just lead to the same sort of situation that's
made the current tax code so repugnant -- thousands of
pages filled with loopholes, exceptions and special
situations where you can either avoid paying at all or
get it back from the gummint at some later date.  Once the
camel gets its nose inside the tent....
 
 WL> Question: does the national sales tax proposal include a
 WL> mechanism for adjusting the rate as consumer spending
 WL> increases and decreases? 
 RC> Not that I've seen. I do think that there does need to be a
 RC> cap of nn% of the purchase. After all, God only asks for
 RC> 10%. 
Yes, but He has an honest idea of His own importance, unlike
some gummint employees who think they're Him.
 
 RC> Also, let me point out that the sales tax is also punitive
 RC> to retirees and those others living off savings. After
 RC> paying the Federal government 28-36% income tax on those
 RC> saved dollars, you now find that Uncle Sugar wants another
 RC> 23% of each saved dollar as you spend it.
Again, I suppose some lawmaker could be persuaded to sponsor
legislation to give a break to people in special
circumstances, with special "tax-break" or "tax-exempt"
cards issued by the gummint.  But that would defeat the
entire idea of a "simple" tax system to replace what we
have now.  If there's a way to implement a change in the
tax system that keeps it simple _and_ keeps it workable
and fair for all, I'd like to see it; personally, I
can't envision it.
Walter, Forked Deer River Ilks
wluffman@usit.net
... All government is able to do is move wealth around. - PJ O'Rourke
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