No slick lawyers, or income tax experts can get you out of a national sales tax. It’s so much on the dollar on every luxury you buy. Then, if you like to live in luxury, the poor fellow knows you are paying for it and he will even encourage you to buy more so it will help out the government. November 2, 1924 Will Rogers
This morning’s post was about closing tax loopholes so I thought I would continue with that thread this afternoon. I am one that believe that a significant amount of our taxes should be raised with a national sales tax. As Will says in the above post it will almost assure the “poor fellow knows you are paying for it”. That is if we can keep the friends of the rich otherwise known as the “Grand Old Party” from filling the sales tax with giant loopholes for planes and such. And that is a giant “if”.
RJ's Corner 
The problem w/ nation sales tax is our local taxes are already high. My town is currently 10.1%. If you add 5% to that…ow! Maybe if grocery food was exempt? Plus -bartering is part of small business so that would evade taxes….
I still like flat tax on income and earnings. The only thing exempt would be #of people in a household since they share the overall income.
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Well isn’t a sales tax the same thing as a flat tax? It would tax everyone at the same rate? 🙂 I can see food and a few other items exempt but not much else. It would sting when buying a new car or a new home but …
Food from groceries not restaurants is exempt from sales taxes now in Indiana. Maybe new home taxes could be paid off as part of a mortgage; but then here we come with the loopholes again… gotta keep it simple/flat as you say…
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Not the same. A flat tax taxes ALL income at one rate- from investments, to business, to personal. The number bantered around is 10%. I know some very weathy people who barely spend any money because they already have it all. If they do buy anything- it is usually in a foreign country ( a friend just bought a hand made yacht in South America and sailed it home. He bought that yacht on investment dollars- which he wrote off with business expenses. Tax the source.
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I don’t have friends who can buy yachts so I don’t know about that …. Are you in the 1% yourself? Maybe you are speaking with more authority than I know??
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LOL- I am not in the one percent- not even close. Our retired income puts us right around the poverty line- which we live on quite nicely.
I did grow up with some very ambitious rags to riches people. I am now in my mid 50’s and they have made more money than I can imagine.
Only one of them came from the upper middle class—the rest were either brought up poor or marginally middle class. They got your type of degree or accounting and began companies. A few doctors in the bunch as well. One is an auto mechanic who grew up to own two companies.
I went the “poor route”- teacher married a soldier/ diplomat :>)
They lived and worked through the American dream and now own some cool toys. Still friends, so we rub elbows over issues like flat taxes!
I am just scratching my head these days on figuring out how our little school went from $25 per child to $7500 in 30 years. Unfortunately, my grandchild will not have the same base as my group did.
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I graduated in a class of 70 and to my knowledge none went on to be supper rich as you indicate of your friends. I hope you don’t think your example is typical. Maybe it was something in the water?
As far as the future goes they say we are creating more millionaires now than any time in the past so if it happened to you it is likely to happen to your grandkids even more than you…
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