Where is your support that a flat tax would cut the "rich folks" actual effective tax rate "in half?"First you have Grover Norquist who has vowed to attend a meeting at the guillotine before he'll tolerate any type of additional tax on the rich. Then you have several Republicans who are adamant about a flat tax. Of course the rich folks would love to see a flat tax because they would automatically see a total annual tax amount at around half of what they are paying now and they could fire their tax lawyers and accountants.
Now the most asinine idea of all of them is Mike Huckabee's national sales tax. Now brother....anybody who falls for this one needs an extensive examination of their brain at the Cleveland Clinic. Poor folks spend all their money and the rich might spend half of their million dollars a year...plus they have a choice about whether or not to buy another yacht or keep using the 2010 model.
What none of them want to discuss is that the poor folks are already paying the highest percentage rates when all taxes are considered vs their total expendable income. At the end of the month there's nothing remaining so that means 100% of their income was taxed or subjected to fees of one kind or another.
1: State Income Taxes(not in all states but in many)
2: Payroll taxes( if they're working and everybody is honest this gets paid every pay period.)
3: Sales tax.....since the poor spend everything nearly all of it is subject to a sales tax.
4: Gasoline tax....trivial to a rich man, considerable to the family barely getting by
5: Vendor tax....always passed along to the consumer
6: Property tax....if one is lucky enough to own a home. Otherwise they rent. Rent includes all expenses the owner has whether maintenance or his own taxes, plus a profit.
7: Federal excise tax....excise taxes are usually included in the price of the product. It's the tax on automobile tires and other activities such as highway usage by trucks
Then there's fees...ever notice those little add ons when you're looking at your phone or power bill. There's always a dollar or two.
Even automobile registration is a tax. The state and county collect that.
One thing is for certain. Any tax which is imposed on a manufacturer's product or service is passed along to the buyer.....it's called bottom line profit.
Any thing a common man enjoys, fishing hunting, camping, boating, travel etc. subjects his/her family to more taxes. Ever notice the fees and taxes on the bill you paid when you checked out of a hotel or motel?
If any common man falls for the idea that a flat tax or national sales tax is good they deserve what they get. If the average citizens weren't getting the short end you can bet the Republicans wouldn't be advocating it.
Pretty simple....they're paying(or supposed to be paying) 30% now and most proposals for a flat tax have stated that around 15% would be the rate for everyone.
I thought you people keep saying rich bastards don't pay taxes? Now suddenly you get that we do?