Rep. John Linder (R-GA) has retired from Congress and radio talk show host Neal Boortz has been silent for years, but their tax plan just will not die. Writing in the New York Sun , billionaire businessman and Republican Party donor John W. Childs makes the case for replacing the current income tax system with a national sales tax. He writes:
It wasn’t that long ago (1987) that the entire budget of the federal government was “only” a trillion dollars. It reached the $2 trillion mark in 2002, and didn’t exceed $3 trillion until 2009. Even after a long series of budget deficits, the national debt didn’t exceed $1 trillion dollars until 1982 and $5 trillion until 1996. The first budget
Donald Trump’s possible decision to end NASA’s funding of the International Space Station by 2025 brings up that age-old question of the proper role of government, although it is certainly not he who is bringing it up. The International Space Station (ISS) program is a joint operation between NASA and the space agencies of Russia, Japan, Canada,
Why do some conservatives and libertarians want some Americans to pay more in taxes? Oh, they don’t actually come out and say that. Then they would sound like Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. What they do say is that certain tax deductions are “loopholes” that need to be “closed” because they “distort” the tax code, “subsidize” high-income
I did something yesterday that I have not done in a very long time—I voted. No, I didn’t vote for a Republican or a Democrat. I voted against a tax. The state in which I live (Florida) has a sales tax rate of 6 percent. Each of the 67 counties in Florida has an option to add on a discretionary sales surtax. Only 9 counties have not done so. My
I attended a “Tax Day rally” today (Tuesday the 17th) here in Pensacola, Florida, sponsored by the local FairTax people. What was I, one who has written against the FairTax here , here , here , here , and here , doing at a FairTax rally? I received an e-mail from the “Community Coordinator for Americans for Fair Taxation” here in Pensacola. The
Actually, the headline reads: “Wal-Mart, Unions Unite on Health Care.” For years Wal-Mart has been falsely accused of shifting the cost of health care for its employees to taxpayers because the company’s high premiums and deductibles keep many Wal-Mart employees from participating in the company health plan—as if Wal-Mart is to blame for the
I should have known, but I just found out that another FairTax bill was introduced in Congress last month. John Linder (R-GA) introduced H.R. 25, “ The FairTax Act of 2007 ,” on the first day of the 110th Congress. There are 55 cosponsors. The numerous problems with this “permission-to-live” tax, as Murray Rothbard described consumption taxes, I
What do rental cars and sports stadiums have in common? Everything, if you live in Kansas City, Mo. According to an article titled “Tax Burden Heavy for Travelers” in the September issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine, “In 2005, the city decided to finance a stadium by tacking on a $4 per day surcharge to its already high taxes on car
Tired of reading yours truly on evils of the FairTax? Here is Bruce Bartlett’s newest analysis of the tax that’s anything but fair: “ Why the FairTax Won’t Work .” Mr. Bartlett has written a very exhaustive and very thorough critique of the FairTax. Since presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee backs the FairTax, this issue is very relevant. Don’t be
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.