The FairTax, on paper, sounds simple: just replace all major sources of the federal government’s revenue—the individual income taxAn individual income tax (or personal income tax) is levied on the wages, salaries, investments, or other forms of income an individual or household earns. The U.S. imposes a progressive income tax where rates increase with income. The Federal Income Tax was established in 1913 with the ratification of the 16th Amendment. Though barely 100 years old, individual income taxes are the largest source of tax revenue in the U.S. , corporate income taxA corporate income tax (CIT) is levied by federal and state governments on business profits. Many companies are not subject to the CIT because they are taxed as pass-through businesses, with income reportable under the individual income tax. , estate and gift taxes, and payroll taxA payroll tax is a tax paid on the wages and salaries of employees to finance social insurance programs like Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance. Payroll taxes are social insurance taxes that comprise 24.8 percent of combined federal, state, and local government revenue, the second largest source of that combined tax revenue. —with a national sales taxA sales tax is levied on retail sales of goods and services and, ideally, should apply to all final consumption with few exemptions. Many governments exempt goods like groceries; base broadening, such as including groceries, could keep rates lower. A sales tax should exempt business-to-business transactions which, when taxed, cause tax pyramiding. .
But when you pull back the curtains, this proposal leads to more questions than answers.
Alan Cole, senior economist, makes his Deduction debut to talk us through why this old idea is gaining attention this year. He breaks down what the FairTax shows us about the debate between income taxes versus consumption taxes, and why “simple solutions” appeal to so many policymakers for how best to taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. an increasingly complex economy.
Links
https://taxfoundation.org/fair-tax-national-sales-tax/
https://taxfoundation.org/fairtax-consumption-taxes/
https://taxfoundation.org/tax-basics/value-added-tax-vat/
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