Bill Rollyson's Blog (5)

1) They increase the perception government is free to a wider audience.

 

I remember in 1999, Steve Forbes stated the average family of four wouldn't pay taxes on the first $34,000 under his flat income tax proposal.  Every plan I've seen (I haven't seen details of either Romney's or Ryan's tax plan; only an outline), has a higher initial exempted amount to counter claims they would hurt the poor.  By doing so, they are extending the number of people who believe…

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A Case Against the Flat Income Tax

 

                I’ll start with full disclosure; I’m a long time supporter of the FairTax.  Over the years, I’ve heard every possible objection to adopting it.  None of them dissuade me from my support.  We should always compare it to what we currently have and what other actual bills are in Congress, not someone’s idea of perfection. 

                Everyone agrees the tax code is a mess today.  The problem is…

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Point one:

                There are no perfect apples

                 There are no perfect tax systems

Point two:

                Every apple will have some spot, bruise or other blemish either on the outside or inside

                Every tax system will have some costs and some “blemish” to deal with

Point three:

                Some people will imagine every spot in an apple to be a wormhole

                Some people will try to…

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It is common for people to wonder how CPAs feel about the FairTax. Many of them feel CPAs would never support the FairTax since the tax code is one source of their revenue. Surprisingly, almost all CPAs I have ever talked with support it. I thought I'd start gathering CPA perspectives to publish. One of those follow.

http://www.perpetualprovidence.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-is-fair-tax.html





March 12, 2009



By Jenna Peeler, CPA



I’m tired. I’m stressed.… Continue

This is a common refrain from some conservatives who otherwise say they would support the FairTax. Therefore they claim the 16th amendment must be repealed first, because you can’t trust Congress. Of course they know the 16th amendment would never be repealed unless the replacement for the income tax was already in place. That is the claimed reason they prefer a flat income tax.



Let’s reverse the question. What prevents Congress from simply adding a VAT or other sales tax to the… Continue