America: No Federal Sales Tax, No Conscription

[August1991]

You Americans have no federal sales tax: you have no federal consumption tax. A federal VAT. (We in Canada do.)

Other countries can impose such taxes.

 

[robosmith]

So what?

[herbie]

Shift some taxation from income to consumption? That would encourage the poor to save and tax the rich more!
What an anti-American communist idea. [/s]

[User]

40 minutes ago, herbie said:

Shift some taxation from income to consumption? That would encourage the poor to save and tax the rich more!
What an anti-American communist idea. [/s]

You want to reduce the income tax in conjunction and proportionally to this?

[Hodad]

Wow, it's June 10th. I guess the "old" VAT thread you started on June 1 has passed it's expiration date? 

This is a bizarre obsession manifesting in bizarre behavior. WTF? 

[Rebound]

13 hours ago, August1991 said:

You Americans have no federal sales tax: you have no federal consumption tax. A federal VAT. (We in Canada do.)

Other countries can impose such taxes.

 

Conscription or Consumption?

In America, we have no Federal VAT, but we do have State VAT’s, which we call sales tax.  They range from 0% to 10%, depending on the state.  Which items are taxed also varies by state. Most do not tax food, some tax clothing and others don’t, etc. 

[reason10]

16 hours ago, August1991 said:

You Americans have no federal sales tax: you have no federal consumption tax. A federal VAT. (We in Canada do.)

Other countries can impose such taxes.

 

Actually a MAJORITY of Americans would like to scrap the 16th Amendment and go with a national sales tax. Problem is, the Congress uses that tax code to buy favors from businesses.

[Rebound]

4 minutes ago, reason10 said:

Actually a MAJORITY of Americans would like to scrap the 16th Amendment and go with a national sales tax. Problem is, the Congress uses that tax code to buy favors from businesses.

There’s nothing in the 16th Amendment which prevents Congress from enacting a national sales tax.  We already have a Federal sales tax on gasoline.  The 16th Amendment doesn’t say we HAVE to have an income tax, either.

[herbie]

15 hours ago, User said:

You want to reduce the income tax in conjunction and proportionally to this?

That was the original concept when it was introduce in Canada in 1991 - instead of an income tax increase. Theoretically so as the GST/VAT revenues increased income tax could be reduced.... and if done on Day One and without the complicated rebate system it might work.

[gatomontes99]

3 hours ago, herbie said:

That was the original concept when it was introduce in Canada in 1991 - instead of an income tax increase. Theoretically so as the GST/VAT revenues increased income tax could be reduced.... and if done on Day One and without the complicated rebate system it might work.

Lol...and you believed that?

[reason10]

8 hours ago, Rebound said:

There’s nothing in the 16th Amendment which prevents Congress from enacting a national sales tax.  We already have a Federal sales tax on gasoline.  The 16th Amendment doesn’t say we HAVE to have an income tax, either.

You don't get it. Unless the 16th Amendment is OVERTURNED (and it has done more damage to the country than the 18th Amendment) then DemoNazis will bring back the income tax.

Income taxes HAVE TO GO. It's the ONLY way for the tax code to be fair. Right now it isn't.

Right now, the DUMBEST, LOWEST sectors of society are not paying their fair share and they are getting WELFARE.

[herbie]

2 hours ago, gatomontes99 said:

Lol...and you believed that?

It prevented an income tax hike at the time.
Then they foolishly dropped the tax from 7 to 5% right as we headed into the 2008 recession. Populism > the good of the country, ya know.

[August1991]

20 hours ago, reason10 said:

You don't get it. Unless the 16th Amendment is OVERTURNED (and it has done more damage to the country than the 18th Amendment) then DemoNazis will bring back the income tax.

Income taxes HAVE TO GO. It's the ONLY way for the tax code to be fair. Right now it isn't.

Right now, the DUMBEST, LOWEST sectors of society are not paying their fair share and they are getting WELFARE.

Honest, reason10,

I had to go back and look at those Amendments. (18th? Totally agree. Progressives and the damage they can do.)

The 16th? I don't get it except that you Americans at the time were opposed to "trusts" - monopoly power.

Last point: I agree about "fair share". In a democracy, we should each have something to contribute - or to lose. We should all have a stake in the game.

 

 

[August1991]

On 6/10/2024 at 4:35 PM, herbie said:

That was the original concept when it was introduce in Canada in 1991 - instead of an income tax increase. Theoretically so as the GST/VAT revenues increased income tax could be reduced.... and if done on Day One and without the complicated rebate system it might work.

I don;t remember that.

It was a fix of a previous sales tax.

[August1991]

Let me return to my OP:

1. You Americans have no federal sales tax. IOW, your federal government is not able to impose a sales tax on your citizens.

(All economists agree that a VAT is the best way to tax: Tax consumption, not income.).

2. Conscription? The ultimate tax is when men (women?) are forced to serve.

[reason10]

4 hours ago, August1991 said:

Honest, reason10,

I had to go back and look at those Amendments. (18th? Totally agree. Progressives and the damage they can do.)

The 16th? I don't get it except that you Americans at the time were opposed to "trusts" - monopoly power.

Last point: I agree about "fair share". In a democracy, we should each have something to contribute - or to lose. We should all have a stake in the game.

 

 

The 16th Amendment created the income tax. The problem with "trusts" and alleged monopoly power was addressed by the Sherman Clayton Antitrust Act. The earliest libertarians weren't too crazy about that one.