"Surely you will concede that not everyone in the tax system is handled the same."
On the contrary: everyone IS handled the same. That's the beauty.
"I am sure there is someone making 9,000 per year that actually pays taxes."
That's true. I know more than one.
"I am equally sure that there are people who make far more than I do that pay less in actual dollars in taxes because they are better situated to take advantage of loop holes and tax shelters..."
You're right again. I'm probably living proof.
"However, I am speaking in generalizations."
Oh... a new subject...okay.
"If you look at the chart from the Clinton tax policy..."
You realize we were talking about the Bush codes, right?
"...you will see the first two groups show a negative percentage. That means that AS A GROUP money was paid back to those groups - although not necessarily everyone in those groups. The numbers I cited were the first groups that show that they pay in, which were 30,000 for singles and 60,000 for married couples. This takes into account the "escapes" that are available to the groups and apparently how broadly they are claimed."
You're casting a huge net, with "escapes" encompassing families, students, investors, etc. Is your point the poorest don't pay a lot of income taxes? Okay, I'll agree with that. In fact, I'll even make your argument for you, or at least the argument you meant to make from the start: In 2007, a family of four pays no federal income tax unless they make over $42,850. See? Clear, concise, factual, and dramatic.
"I take issue with the assertion that I don't understand "revenue neutral"."
Let me ask you this: If I currently pay $1070 for a $1000 computer (due to 7% local sales tax), what will it cost under the fairtax? So far, the only answer I've received from FTers is $1070, which only proves a profound ignorance of the concept. When I point out the new price will have to reflect the lost payroll and income taxes, I get scoffed at, and told those taxes are already embedded in that $1000 price.
So here's the big question: if payroll and income taxes are already embedded in the price of the computer today, and everything else I buy, why do I (and everyone else) currently pay payroll and income taxes separately?
"The projections are that the tax dollars coming into the federal government will be the same. That does not mean that the same people will be paying them."
True. But the landscape will be vastly different when there becomes a dividing line between what goods have the tax imposed and what don't. One obvious result might be new cars sold with a FT premium, but not used cars. Oops, there goes Michigan. Or new homes with the premium, but resold homes without. Quick: sell Weyerhauser (wood suppliers), and buy Lowe's and Home Depot. The changes would be seismic, and the shakeup would be seismic as well. And instead of assuming consumers might be confused by these radically different prices, the FT assumes a 20% growth spurt, virtually overnight! In truth, the new wealthy will be all the businesses just on this side of the FT premium.
"Thank you for the education."
Wait till you get my bill.
