Advantages of a National Sales Tax

Already you know that I am a strong supporter of switching to a national sales tax and eliminating the current tax system. Here in this post I would like to explain some of my favorite reasons for making the change.

My favorite prospect under the new system is the idea of never having to file taxes ever again. More importantly, I actually dream of the day when I open my paycheck and don't see any money taken out of my wages; no money to the state, no money to social security, nothing but the pay my boss told me I would earn. You see, in my mind it just doesn't make any sense whatsoever anymore for a government to step in on pay day and take a cut of my earnings. That is the way the mafia works; give me a cut and things will stay the same for you. Don't; and things in your life are going to get worse. Unfortunately, for every argument I make here on out, I feel this that this next possibility may be in my way. I have read enough political fiction and watched enough sci fi to be brainwashed into believing that the American government has secret agendas which in turn require secret funding. Keeping me attached to this belief are things like the winnings tax. Technically I understand this to be a standard income tax but when the Powerball lottery was just announced at $325 million but also stated that the winner will only receive roughly 200 million, I begin to wonder. Currently, I only get taxed less than 20% of my earnings so why do lottery winners get taxed more than 30%. And where does that money go.  The point of this post is not to debate tax law so I will get back on topic.

Back to what I was originally discussing, the advantages of a national sales tax, I will say this; I am a strong believer that rights come with responsibilities; and that government does not provide free goods. Even the entitlement programs are designed to provide just enough to keep people where they are. No way could any poor American expect their government to simply call them up and let them know about the job that will take them out of poverty. If you are being aided by the government than you are being controlled by the government. Again this post is supposed to be about the advantages of switching to a National Sales Tax so I apologize for my digressions and I need to finish what I started.

Another thing that I like about the prospect of a National sales tax is that under this system there are no tax evaders. Currently, one quarter of total U.S. Household spending is roughly 1.375 trillion dollars according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2010. This number doesn't account for all the money that was spent in America in 2010; particularly, foreign diplomats and criminals are hard to keep track of. If all the "under the table"/cash transactions were properly accounted for, I believe that one quarter of the total amount of money spent in America for 2010 would actually total nearly, if not well over, 2 trillion dollars. I will explain in later posts how even this incredible amount of money doesn't pay for the current goverment but for what I eventually want to argue, it is important that a 2 trillion dollar government income be known. And on a side note and by-the-way, in 2010, U.S. income tax brought to the government approximately 1.25 trillion dollars.

The last big "PRO" of switching to a national sales tax, is that when it is in place, every American citizen becomes the same, if only at one small thing. Whether you make 25 thousand dollars per year or 25 million, your purchases send the same tax percentage to the government. This also appeases the wishes of current liberals who wish to tax the rich more than the poor. This way they would be able to do both. All of those new cars, investments, vacations, and luxuries that the rich pay for will aid in providing for the country's needs in literally, if not technically, the same way that the groceries and energy bills do that the poor pay.

These three things make me smile. They make me think about a nation where the people get to live their lives without having to frustrate themselves with worry's of their government and it's spending. Again my dreams don't describe our current government but instead a government that I really believe will exist one day somewhere in the world... more things for me to discuss in the future. Next time I will let be known the discussions being held about why a national sales tax is a ridiculous idea. I will do my best to remain objective and state, as argumentatively as possible, the reasons why all of why I envision is truly unrealistic and flat-out stupid to even bring up; that a national sales tax is a truly awful idea.

As always, please please please provide some feedback. I've always thought that a person cannot ever learn anything about themselves by looking into a mirror. The mind can be deceiving so I want to think that true knowledge is gained through experience and through the thoughts provided by other minds and sources. Your help could help me make a difference. I hope.

So thanks.

Adjusting to a National Sales Tax

One of the biggest off-the-bat deterrents that I have noticed citizens have when told of such a high sales tax is a big twinge in the face that tells me that they can't imagine themselves paying an extra dollar for a gallon of milk or an extra $180 for an Ipad or $12,000 for a new Ford SuperDuty! The first thing that I want to make clear when explaining my idea is that under my system, the tax is already built into the price of every new good and service. So when you go to the store as a customer, you will never see anything declaring how much tax is in that cost; the retailer sets all the prices before their product hits the shelves.
Try to imagine that world for a second; a place where that $199.99 price tag for that dishwasher means that your total on the register screen reads $199.99. So that twinge at the sound of 30% needs not be there because once the new system is implemented, you never have to hear about taxes again.

That is quite possibly the best part about my idea for both sides of this debate and is something I hope to delve further into with later posts. The discussion of taxes makes even the geekiest of CPAs feel dirty let alone the average Joe or Jane. Under the current system, the subject of taxes is literally nothing more than a battle in which each year’s winner feels that they have successfully cheated the other side out of the most amount of money. The IRS writes in pages and pages of tax code each year to make things more and more complicated so that only CPA’s and tax preparers can navigate the system which takes even more of a citizen’s money than even the government intended. At the same time these CPA’s and Tax Preparers will dig and dig for their clients to find every possible tax break imaginable to do whatever they can to return as much money as possible without inviting an IRS audit. The system is a joke. My system will eliminate every income, capital gains, payroll, property, estate, trade, and every other tax you've ever heard of and start afresh with just one tax. One tax that everyone pays the same regardless of how much money they make, or how much money they have, or even how they made their money. America's economy and her government will grow as her residents spend money and never again will she knock on your door and ask for you to hand over any of your hard earned income.

When all is said and done I believe that this blog will produce a well-built argument that might perk the ears of some of those with the ability to make a change. I sincerely hope that after reading my thoughts you will take a moment to provide me with some feedback. Please take into consideration that my intention with this blog is not to be a rabble-rouser or an extremist. I have simply envisioned an opportunity and have found through research that the possibilities are there for taking advantage of this Nation’s unique situation.

I will let this be the end of this post as it seems like a good starting point. In my next two posts I intend to begin playing both sides of this debate. First, I will lay down my favorite “pros” in support of making the change to a 30% National Sales Tax. In the Second Post I will do my best to lay out the “cons” I have found valid and make, as best I can on my own, the rebuttals to my first post “pros”.

Thanks for reading. I hope you find this initiative as intriguing and inspiring as I do.