My railing about how the current system / progressive taxes are
injurious to the upwardly mobile was pretty lame in construction,
mostly because I've just been pissed about my own tax process I've
been going through. It's not really the progressive nature of the tax
(by literal definition of progressive) that's injurious, it's a
function of the fact that it's an income tax and the fact that it's
avoidable via loopholes once earnings exceed burn by some margin.
Here's a much better argument, also from
http://www.fairtax.org/issues/fairness.shtml
The Income Tax Disproportionately Injures the Upwardly
Mobile
The income tax is unfair because it taxes the principal
means by which Americans can improve the standard of living
for themselves and for their children. The income tax is
biased against those who are seeking to improve their
families' lot in life through savings, investment, and hard
work, while it favors those with assets to consume.
The FairTax would improve the standard of living of the vast
majority of Americans by rewarding an individual's decision
to work, save and invest. Under current law, however,
consumption of goods and services is favored over savings
and investment. A taxpayer often enjoys no immediate benefit
from savings and investing, and the fact that the taxpayer
has already been taxed on his or her income means that there
is also no incentive not to consume. The income tax system
rewards the here and now, and penalizes taxpayers who seek
to save for the future by taxing income when it is earned
and grows. Under the FairTax, those who benefit from tax
sheltered income or those who profit handsomely from the
complexities and confusion of the tax system would no longer
benefit from advantages which are not available to most
taxpayers.
The FairTax would additionally benefit lower income families
through increased economic growth. Slow economic growth or
recessions have a disproportionately adverse impact on the
poor. Breadwinners in these families are more likely to lose
their jobs, are less likely to have the resources to weather
bad economic times and are more in need of the initial
employment opportunities that a dynamic, growing economy
provides. The FairTax would dramatically improve economic
growth and improve wage rates, while retaining the present
tax system would needlessly delay economic progress.
jb
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Apr 27 2001 - 23:15:11 PDT