I’m a cynic, so I’m wondering how this benefits billionaires and squeezes the poor and middle class. Anyone have any notions about a national sales tax essentially eliminating other forms of taxation? Too simple? Pie in the sky? A gift for the wealthy?The idea of a “fair tax” that would replace our current IRS code with a single sales tax was popularized on conservative talk radio in the late 1990s. It has kicked around Washington ever since, popping up in the occasional presidential platform, but never received a vote.
Its current champion in Congress is Georgia Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, whose Fair Tax Act would swap out the income, payroll, estate, and corporate levies for a 30% national sales tax. It would also send out “prebate” checks to soften the blow on lower income families, all while abolishing the Internal Revenue Service.
- Doc