Moxie wants to have a discussion on alternative tax methods. I thought that Steve Forbes' flat tax plan was a pretty good idea back in the day, but I changed my mind after I listened to Leonard Peikoff's interview with Bill Archer (The Leonard Peikoff Show, 06/17/96) and came to the conclusion that a retail sales tax is a better idea. Bruce Bartlett thinks that the flat tax makes a comeback. I wonder if the tax reforms in Slovakia could be implemented in other countries in Europe. For information on the situation in Sweden, read my post, TAX PRESSURE.
UPDATE 12/09/03:
Thanks for the comments! I agree with Aaron that "Anything is better than the quagmire we have now" and I think that the consumption tax is the best way to go.
Brian Yoder correctly points out: "Unless the income tax is completely and permanently obliterated, we will end up with both a national sales tax and a national income tax and things will be worse than they are now." That is what happened in Sweden. The VAT started out as a temporary sales tax at a level of about 3% and is now 25% (20% off the total price) and a progressive income tax.
Moxie: Here is an excerpt from Edwin Feulner's article, Simplify the Tax Code with a Flat Tax:
"The income-tax system began in 1913 as a two-page form backed by 14 pages of law. Today, we struggle with 742 different forms and 254 separate publications, backed by more than 17,000 pages of law." [Capitalism Magazine, 12/04/02.]
I look forward to Tax Freedom Day! In Sweden you have to wait until August... (Click here for the PDF version.)
No comments:
Post a Comment