LOOK: Huckabee Pushes National Sales Tax in NH

[FrankRep]

Huckabee Pushes National Sales Tax in NH

Associated Press


BOSCAWEN, N.H. (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said eliminating federal income taxes in favor of a national sales tax would help save Social Security—an odd pitch in a state where residents pay no state income or sales taxes.

"Instead of basing our national budget off of payroll taxes for Social Security ... it means the base of funding is much broader," said Huckabee, whose shoestring campaign has surged nationally and in Iowa, which holds caucuses five days before New Hampshire's Jan. 8 primary.

"That's important because we have a declining number of people who actually live by their wages," the former Arkansas governor told workers at the Elektrisola plant in Boscawen, where workers make wires for electric guitars like those Huckabee plays, among other things.

The tax plan Huckabee has proposed, called the "FAIR tax," would eliminate federal income and investment taxes and replace them with a 23 percent federal sales tax. The poor would pay no net sales tax up to the poverty level, and every household would receive a rebate equal to sales taxes paid on essential goods and services.

It's a tough sell in New Hampshire, where residents do not pay state income taxes or general sales taxes. Scott Sweezey, a programmer at the plant who lives in Bristol, said he doesn't know how to make a consumption tax treat people fairly.

"Low-income or retired would pay the same tax as somebody who has a million dollars," Sweezey said. "I guess if you don't buy anything, you don't pay any sales tax, but if you do buy something, you pay sales tax."

A grim future looms for Social Security, because as post-World War II baby boomers begin retiring, the system won't collect enough taxes to pay for retirement benefits. The government likely will have to raise taxes or reduce benefits.

Neither solution is attractive, so presidential candidates in both parties avoid talking about them. An exception is Republican former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who proposes lower-than-promised benefits for future retirees as well as new private investment accounts.

Huckabee says replacing income taxes with a sales tax would also have the benefit of discouraging illegal immigration because they would be forced to pay taxes they're not paying now.

Not everyone in New Hampshire dislikes the idea of a federal sales tax.

Ken Schuhle, a Navy veteran from Dover, said it would eliminate loopholes that rich people exploit. "That way, everybody pays our share," said Schuhle, who listened to Huckabee speak during lunch at the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton.


SOURCE:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

[Knightskye]

Huckabee will sink like a rock in New Hampshire. And this'll probably be the reason.

[sw33tbabiblu3]

Wouldn't this hurt our economy even more because people wouldn't buy as much?

[torchbearer]

Wouldn't this hurt our economy even more because people wouldn't buy as much?

Thread winner!

[Ilhaguru]

Wouldn't this hurt our economy even more because people wouldn't buy as much?

But you would have more money in the bank.

It's a neat little proposal, and an improvement over the current system, but I prefer tax cuts.

[specsaregood]

My gut is that a national sales tax would increase the underground economy and empower organized crime syndicates. I have nothing to back this up with except a strong hunch. Any thoughts?

[bbachtung]

On the plus side, ALL Americans would get a check from the government every month; it is called a prebate.

Please note that I am being sarcastic.

[T206]

So now when I buy a new car, for $30k, I pay $6,900 in tax...and then pay 4,5,6....10% interest over 4 years on that extra $6,900?

NO THANKS!

[specsaregood]

My gut is that a national sales tax would increase the underground economy and empower organized crime syndicates. I have nothing to back this up with except a strong hunch. Any thoughts?

I just did a quick search and came up with this:
http://www.nbh.hu/english/evk2006-eng/06-0044.htm

VAT frauds in the European Union
"This procedure that is also called carousel fraud has been repeated several times so the perpetrators made a significant income. International analysis called the attention to the fact that organized criminal and terrorist groups have also joined the above series of fraud for the enormous profit that can be made by it. "

[Paul4Prez]

So now when I buy a new car, for $30k, I pay $6,900 in tax...and then pay 4,5,6....10% interest over 4 years on that extra $6,900?

NO THANKS!

You should be so lucky. The actual tax rate for the FairTax is 30%. On a $30,000 car, you would pay $9,000 in federal sales tax. The FairTax backers call it 23%, because $9,000 is 23% of $39,000 -- the total with the tax.

Independent sources put the real rate above 30%, if you want revenue neutrality, as Huckabee insists. The real problem is that Huckabee wants to increase federal spending (more on defense, more for ethanol, more for agribusiness subsidies, more for arts and music education), so we would probably end up with both a sales tax and an income tax, or a lot higher sales tax rate, or a huge deficit, which could lead to hyperinflation, which no one wants when you're paying a 30% sales tax.

I wrote an article on it here:

http://paul4prez.blogspot.com/2007/1...hell-game.html

[Eponym_mi]

All this before repealing the 16th amendment. Nucking futs!

[ctblnpilot]

Sales Tax in NH??? Ahhh Haaaa Haaa Haa

Granite heads pay hefty property taxes in order to avoid the sales and income taxes. Here comes this southern preacher with the bright idea of ramming a national sales tax down their throats.

Save your air fare Huskster. You will loose big up here.

[user]

Haha even the AP reporter knows this and put it in the first sentence!

[muh_roads]

The FairTax scares the hell out of me. Mostly because of what I've seen happen to Europe. They attempted to swap their income tax system for the VAT, but later they ended up getting stuck with paying for both.

That same thing will eventually happen here.

End the damn global Empire, restore the Republic, save 1 trillion dollars per year, repeal the income tax and replace it with NOTHING!

Ron Paul has the only answer.

[cska80]

Some states already have a terrible sales tax. I doubt states would drop these to make way for a national sales tax. So add the two up, and it's not pretty.

[Drea]

Wouldn't this hurt our economy even more because people wouldn't buy as much?

Yes, in a way. (although our economy is hurt either way by this)

That would be the apparency, but in reality people would be finding new loopholes.

The only thing to do to really handle it is to cut/eliminate taxes.

Drea

[malkusm]

The average American spends $6.33 per day on food, as of 2004.

Let's say you're making minimum wage. You are currently exempt from the income tax (you file your tax returns but get all your money refunded).

$6.33 + 30% = $8.23.

40% of Americans currently live from paycheck-to-paycheck.

We should ask Huckabee, for those 40% of Americans, do we want to increase their cost of living by AT LEAST $2 per day, on food expenses alone?

[Lyn]

I grew up in NH. They absolutely HATE sales tax. All I can say to the Huckster is "Good luck with that".

[strategos]

Huckabee will sink like a rock in New Hampshire. And this'll probably be the reason.

Don't be a punk, the FAIRtax is a great program, look it up before you say dumb things like that

[Naraku]

The FairTax is a horrible idea. It doesn't actually get rid of the IRS, it might change their name, but that's it. Also no one is exempt, people below the national poverty level, around $20,000, get a check every month to make up for it. Every one above that line pays the same amount in sales tax, 23%, which in my state would mean something around 30% on top of the actual price.

More shocking is it actually negates tax exempt status for NPOs. Churches would have taxes tacked on to everything they sell.

It actually would severely cut taxes for the rich and raise them exponentially for the middle class.

Also, if I understand this correctly, you have to file your taxes every month as opposed to every year. There is just nothing good about the FairTax and Huckabee's rhetoric indicates he knows it won't be popular to talk about the FairTax in depth. The FairTax won't hurt the poor, it won't hurt the rich, but it will wreck havoc on the middle class.

[strategos]

The FairTax is a horrible idea. It doesn't actually get rid of the IRS, it might change their name, but that's it. Also no one is exempt, people below the national poverty level, around $20,000, get a check every month to make up for it. Every one above that line pays the same amount in sales tax, 23%, which in my state would mean something around 30% on top of the actual price.

More shocking is it actually negates tax exempt status for NPOs. Churches would have taxes tacked on to everything they sell.

It actually would severely cut taxes for the rich and raise them exponentially for the middle class.

Also, if I understand this correctly, you have to file your taxes every month as opposed to every year. There is just nothing good about the FairTax and Huckabee's rhetoric indicates he knows it won't be popular to talk about the FairTax in depth. The FairTax won't hurt the poor, it won't hurt the rich, but it will wreck havoc on the middle class.

Oh no, not the churches!

[Mesogen]

So now when I buy a new car, for $30k, I pay $6,900 in tax...and then pay 4,5,6....10% interest over 4 years on that extra $6,900?

NO THANKS!

1. Don't buy new cars
2. Don't finance a car

That won't stop the national sales tax, but you won't be overpaying for a car, then paying interest on top of that.

Ever listen to Dave Ramsey? He's right.

[Mesogen]

Churches are exempt from sales taxes now. I don't think that'll change.

[Mesogen]

Sales Tax in NH??? Ahhh Haaaa Haaa Haa

Granite heads pay hefty property taxes in order to avoid the sales and income taxes. Here comes this southern preacher with the bright idea of ramming a national sales tax down their throats.

Save your air fare Huskster. You will loose big up here.

This is why Huck would never win Tennessee. I loved the no income tax there. They HATE taxes there. Candidates live or die based on their tax policies there.

[Naraku]

Churches are exempt from sales taxes now. I don't think that'll change.

Right now it's a state sales tax, the FairTax would not give them exemption.

[T206]

1. Don't buy new cars
2. Don't finance a car

That won't stop the national sales tax, but you won't be overpaying for a car, then paying interest on top of that.

Ever listen to Dave Ramsey? He's right.

Ramsey is right for some people. I own a $20k Honda civic that I put a ton of miles on. If I bought a used car, Id just have to buy another one sooner.

[Soccrmastr]

Huckabee will do bad in NH

[Aldanga]

Ramsey is right for some people. I own a $20k Honda civic that I put a ton of miles on. If I bought a used car, Id just have to buy another one sooner.

But you can save several thousand dollars by buying a car with a couple thousand miles. It's better in the long haul.


This is going to kill Huckleberry's chances in NH. It really is.

[krott5333]

But you would have more money in the bank.

It's a neat little proposal, and an improvement over the current system, but I prefer tax cuts.

More money in the bank? As it sits in the bank, even if you're making 5% interest (which is very rare of course), your money is still worth less because of runaway spending and inflation.

Its probably better to spend your money as soon as you get it, because its going to lose value everyday;

[ItsTime]

Huck pushing sales tax in a state with NO INCOME and NO SALES tax... good idea... LMAO