Archive for December 2007
Bruce Bartlett: Why the FairTax Won’t Work
December 30, 2007 · Category: Criticisms, Education
Bruce Bartlett has published an article in Tax Notes called, simply enough, "Why the FairTax Won't Work." (Thanks to Morphh for the tip.)
Bartlett was formerly Treasury deputy assistant secretary for economic policy and executive ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 20 Comments »
Increased Visibility of the FairTax
From reader Andrew Martin:
Great site. I am a fair tax supporter, but I really enjoy the cordial debate that goes on here.
The main reason I support the fair tax is visibility. ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 19 Comments »
Does HR 25 Exclude Money as a Commodity?
December 28, 2007 · Category: Criticisms, Education
The letter below is from reader David Wilshin. I'm editing out some of the snarky parts so that his concerns may be addressed by other readers. Depending on his choice of words, he ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 10 Comments »
Remaining Questions from John Warr
December 28, 2007 · Category: Criticisms, Education
I'm bumping this extended comment, from "On Taxing Government Expenditures Part II," to start a new thread.
Wow! Sounds like most of us are on the same page in this discussion. Please indulge me in the ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 3 Comments »
FairTax Implications for Service Providers, Contractors, and Imported Components
Below are questions submitted by an anonymous reader. I'm adding numbers to the questions so they can be answered more readily.
In light of the upcoming elections, I am trying to decide whether or not I ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 10 Comments »
AFFT CEO Leo Linbeck on the FairTax in the WSJ
Thanks to Hayden for pointing out this one:
FairTax Facts
By LEO LINBECK
December 26, 2007; Page A10
Much has been written lately about the FairTax, the proposal to replace the current federal income tax with a national retail ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 23 Comments »
On Taxing Government Expenditures - Part II
December 26, 2007 · Category: Criticisms, Education
Hank van Geison sends this new thread-starter on the topic of "On Taxing Government Expenditures."
By way of review on this thread’s subject, here is what I think we are more or less agreed on if ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 13 Comments »
Comparing Average and Marginal Tax Rates under the FairTax and the Current System
December 24, 2007 · Category: Education
Morphh just pointed out the Oct 2006 study “Comparing Average and Marginal Tax Rates under the FairTax and the Current System of Federal Taxation” by Kotlikoff and Rapson, which is available at that link in ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 1 Comment »
Hank Van Geison on the FairTax Calculator
December 23, 2007 · Category: Criticisms, Education
Hank Van Geison forwards the following, from an e-mail he sent to AFFT's Director of Communications, for comments or suggestions from other readers:
The calculator is easy to use and seems to be accurate for everyone, ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 7 Comments »
On Maintaining High Quality Discussion
December 22, 2007 · Category: Site Announcements
I would like to ask all our commenters to help keep our quality of discussion here as high as possible.
Of course, this applies to those who promote the FairTax as well as those ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 5 Comments »
Fred Thompson Says He Would Sign FairTax Bill
December 21, 2007 · Category: Political Support
UPDATE: In response to Fred Johnson's comment, below...
Thanks for the heads-up. I was unaware that AFFT had ever "made a big deal about it" or that Thompson's campaign had responded.
Regarding the clip being "obviously ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 5 Comments »
Answering James Taranto’s Critique of the FairTax
December 20, 2007 · Category: Criticisms, Education
A reader named Derek has done an excellent job of answering Hayden Kepner's summary of James Taranto's critique of the FairTax in the Wall Street Journal. I'm pasting Derek's answer below, with a few ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 5 Comments »
On Taxing Government Expenditures
From John Warr:
Can anyone explain how the federal government can generate revenue by imposing a tax upon itself? If revenue cannot be generated this way, why does HR 25 require the federal government to ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 29 Comments »
James Taranto Critiques the FairTax in the Wall Street Journal
December 18, 2007 · Category: Criticisms, Media Citings
From today's Wall Street Journal:
If you were reading this column last week, you probably anticipated our second reason for criticism of Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign: his support of the so-called Fair Tax. Just to sum ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 9 Comments »
Closing the B2B Loophole, Part II
From reader Tanner E:
I was hoping you or someone else could help me understand this regarding FairTax. I came across the “The ‘I’m My Customers’ Employee’ Trick” post from 10/05/06… and read through all ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 3 Comments »
Irrefutable Proof the FairTax Cannot Work?
FairTax critic Hayden Kepner actually submitted this a couple weeks ago but it got lost in all our technical difficulties. I just approved several other messages that had been stuck in the queue as ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 75 Comments »
Questions about the FairTax Plan
From reader Cynthia McClelland:
I have several questions about the fair tax proposal.
1) If payroll deductions for Social Security/Medicare are discontinued, what about the employers' contribution? Has this been figured into the proposed beginning rate ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 6 Comments »
Technical Problems Fixed, Hopefully
December 13, 2007 · Category: Site Announcements
We've had some technical difficulties on this blog for the past few weeks. Many of you encountered errors when you tried posting comments, for example.
It also got bad enough that I was ...
Posted by Joshua Zader · 1 Comment »
