(01-28-2021 11:06 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(01-28-2021 10:59 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(01-28-2021 10:54 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(01-28-2021 10:42 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(01-28-2021 10:09 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  "Anything that results in less tax is a subsidy.

Or so they say as they deduct their mortgage interest."

I took this to a swipe at people who were against fossil fuel subsidies but were OK with taking the mortgage interest deduction.

I guess in a way it is -they call the FF tax breaks subsidies, but not the homeowner tax breaks, and the hypocrisy/blindness of those who do not acknowledge the similarities dazzles me.

Of course, some have pointed out that tax breaks for homeowners are all "tax breaks for the rich" as poor people cannot afford to own homes.

Of course, the counter to that is "only rich people pay (federal income) taxes, so every tax break is a tax break for the rich".

And once again, these problems, as some see them, could be eliminated with the Fair Tax, which is really my point and which you have not and cannot refute.

Yep, those issues would be gone with a flat tax. It would then create other issues.

There's no perfect solution, it's all about balancing pros and cons and striving to implement the best solution.

The Fair Tax is not a flat tax. Probably this discussion would work better if you knew that.

The Fair tax is a consumption Tax.

But you are right that any change in system would bring about a change in the problems we face and in the inequities some people would see in any system.

I appreciate the correction - I didn't know the fair tax was a specific proposal. As you said, the overall point I made was the same, so not sure how the discussion would work better since we weren't talking about details.

Ironically, the discussion is still pretty similar with regards to this fair tax and a flat tax - both options apply a tax universally to all citizens. They just tax different cash flows in a flat manner.

Well, no. The Flat Tax still requires people to declare income and still requires differences in how various kinds of income are reported. We still need an IRS to audit tax returns to see who is cheating and how much.

The Fair Tax eliminates all that, and allows people to option what they spend on and how much. You want a $80K car? You will pay 4X the tax that you would on an $20K car. Regardless of your income or the sources.
And since the tax is collected at the point of sale, and remitted through existing sales tax systems already in place in 42 states, one big bureaucracy can be minimized.