Death and taxes

FIrst... SPAM warning... don't make me start deleting those things guys (it was fine until the last three).

Second, I have the same problem with public office Loth... well, that and the video tape of me skinny dipping in the pool with those three women that someone has a couple copies of (and I'm actually not kidding... every now and then, the bastard pulls it out in front of company. One more reason why I don't drink anymore).

Thrid, a federal sales tax can be done... states have done it, so why couldn't the feds? It would be trickey... you'd have pelnty of lobiests fighting against it, but now is a good time, because companies like Arthur Anderson, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (my old company), D&T... all of the the big accounting houses... have a little less pull right now. But it would be putting 90% of the CPA's out of business... along with a bunch of tax lawyers... so there will be people with money fighting it. Michigan was moving towards it a couple years ago... but has stalled. We went from a 4% to 6% sales tax, and lowered the income tax from 6.5% down to 4.4%.... and the budget hasn't suffered... but they haven't moved it since.

But, take this example too... I was in Texas a while back (one of those states with no income tax... at least back then... don't know about now). Anyway, there was like an 8% state tax on everything. But it didn't end there... I was in Houston, and I ended up paying another 4% before it was all over (I was in Sugarland, so I was paying both Sugarland and Houston taxes... they are a bit screwey). But you get my point. If you have a Federal Sales Tax at around 35%, and then add State and Local Sales Tax onto that... You could be paying over 50% in taxes. So, while it feels like you have more money.... it also feels like INFLATION just got a rocket booster (and even percieved inflation hurts spending). Also, 35% may be conservative for a Federal Sales Tax... they'd have to transition, not go cold turkey... get an idea for how much is really being brought in. Then the'd have to overhaul some of the other tax laws (there are laws about not paying taxes for the first X amount of years when you move to America that are being exploited around here I know)... They'd also have to increase Tarriffs to go with it (to keep people from crossing over to Canada and Mexico to get their goods). And catalog / internet purchases could no longer be exempt (imagine that spiffy new iMac now costs $2700, not $1800.... just because of taxes). You would think that the price of those goods would go down too... because the companies wont be paying taxes... but they will... they will be paying higher prices in the parts (in the form of sales tax on those purchases).

I'm still for it, but the shift in perception of the cost of goods could ruin it from the start. Everything would cost more before you really saw the benefits of the bigger pay checks and more savings.