Yet another tax proposal...
...by guest blogger Micah over at Seth Chalmer's place. This one is labeled "The Progressive Consumption Tax," and it is intriguing. Basically, it's a tax on bank withdrawals, with the tax rate going up based on the amount of withdrawal per year. So it's not a sales tax per se, but rather a tax on cash spent.
There are complications, some of which Micah accounts for - most notably, how to incorporate the (good) deductions we currently have, such as health care and business expenses. Read it, and give 'em some feedback.
posted by Tom Strong @ 4:09 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Hmmm, maybe I should start hording cash.
Gotta love new ideas, though. I don't know what I think about this as I wonder how easily it could be circumvented by those crafty rich folk--once again leaving us middle classers to foot most of the tax bill.
Personally, I still like the VAT but only if certain items like unprepared foods and toliet paper are exempt. If you have to pay your taxes at the register, it's hard to avoid paying your share.
I think rich people can avoid paying at the register as surely as they can avoid paying income tax. The issue of how to get rich people to pay their fair share is separate, in my opinion, from how to clarify the tax code.
Tom,
Actually, a VAT is a notoriously difficult tax to avoid paying. Income taxes, on the other hand, are filled with deductions and loopholes.
Plus, a VAT, like the tax you mention, it's a consumption tax, which I think is a fairly radical middle idea. It's nothing I'm sold on but it's a fascinating idea.
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