Transaction Tax – another trial balloon
Lanny Davis, who was Bill Clinton’s Special Council, has an editorial at The Hill.
One idea for raising taxes to pay down the debt is the bill introduced this February by Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.). His “Debt Free America Act” (H.R. 4646) would impose a 1 percent “transaction tax” on every financial transaction — whether paid by cash, credit card or any form of financial transfer, the only exception being transactions involving the purchase or sale of stock. Theoretically, everyone would pay one cent on the dollar for every such transaction in America every day — whether $3 million on a $300 million business acquisition, $300 on the purchase of a $30,000 car, or $5 on a $500 ATM withdrawal.
To reduce the impact of such a flat tax on the poor, Fattah’s bill provides for a 1 percent tax credit for couples earning $250,000 or less ($125,000 or less for individuals) and discretion by the Treasury Department to exempt certain transactions on which lower-income people disproportionately rely. Another idea would be to amend his bill to exempt all transactions below $500.
What good is there in a consumption tax if it doesn’t tax consumption of everyone? Let everyone know there is a cost of government – and the more direct the better. Let every receipt have a line Federal Sales Tax. And why are stock transactions except? If they are except, why not other exceptions? Say medical expenses? This is how we get tens of thousands of tax code pages! Congress always seems to get around words like Trust Fund and Lockbox.
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Another tax! Wow.. taxation without representation. We have no representation when the minority over rule the majority. Lets quit feeding the dragon.
So let me get this straight. When I get paid by my company, the govt. will get 1%. When I withdraw my own money at an ATM the govt will get 1%. When I use that money I just withdrew from the ATM to buy lunch, the govt. will get 1%. That’s an awful lot of 1%’s. Looks to me more like 3% just for me to buy lunch. That is on top of the income tax increase (~5% depending on income) along with the new tax increases which have already been passed to pay for then new health care bill, despite the President’s promise not to raise taxes on the poor and middle class. The way I see it, the govt. is raising taxes across the board 10-20%. Hello?!?Anyone remember Comunist Russia? Looks like the fastest way to failure and the return of Black Market goods back is to raise taxes like what is being proposed.
We already have a transaction tax = sales tax.
How about this, abolish the federal reserve, eliminate income tax, and cut government spending by…say, 50% and when our debt is paid off, move the dollar back to the gold standard.
And continue to scale back the government to the size of the constitution.
This is just a sneaky way to pass the value added tax upon the people.
Semper Fi
obama’s dealth panels will be the end of our health care