(Text is from last year's HR 25, which was the effective text until 2023-01-03. There will be changes to the dates and other things but the structure should be the same when the current HR 25 text is available Buddy Carter's copy of HR 25, 118th session.) Emphases added. Note: Section numbers are IRC section rather than bill section except as specified.
101: "(a) In General.—There is hereby imposed a tax on the use or consumption in the United States of taxable property or services. (b) Rate.— ... In the calendar year ... the rate of tax is 23 percent of the gross payments for the taxable property or service."
103(b)(2): "In the case of wages or salary paid by a taxable employer which are taxable services, the employer shall remit the tax imposed by section 101."
2(a)(14): "(A) GENERAL RULE.—The term ‘taxable property or service’ means ... (ii) any service (including any financial intermediation services as determined by section 801). (B) SERVICE.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘service’— (i) shall include any service performed by an employee for which the employee is paid wages or a salary by a taxable employer ...."
Sounds to me like a wage tax of 23% in addition to a sales tax of 23%. You get hit with 23% when you get paid and you get hit with another 23% of what you spend on "taxable products". The current wage tax is 15.3% plus withholding. There's no savings argument to prefer the sales tax over the income tax.
101(b): "For years after the calendar year ..., the rate of tax is the combined Federal tax rate percentage (as defined in paragraph (3)) of the gross payments for the taxable property or service. (3) COMBINED FEDERAL TAX RATE PERCENTAGE.—The combined Federal tax rate percentage is the sum of— (A) the general revenue rate (as defined in paragraph (4)), (B) the old-age, survivors and disability insurance rate, and (C) the hospital insurance rate. (4) GENERAL REVENUE RATE.—The general revenue rate shall be 14.91 percent."
904(d): "The old-age, survivors and disability insurance rate shall be determined by the Social Security Administration. The old-age, survivors and disability insurance rate shall be that sales tax rate which is necessary to raise the same amount of revenue that would have been raised by imposing a 12.4 percent tax on the Social Security wage base (including self-employment income) as determined in accordance with chapter 21 of the Internal Revenue Code most recently in effect prior to the enactment of this Act. The rate shall be determined using actuarially sound methodology and announced at least 6 months prior to the beginning of the calendar year for which it applies."
904(e): "The hospital insurance rate shall be determined by the Social Security Administration. The hospital insurance rate shall be that sales tax rate which is necessary to raise the same amount of revenue that would have been raised by imposing a 2.9 percent tax on the Medicare" yatata yatata.
Sounds to me like after the first year the rate goes up to 14.91+12.4+2.9 or 30.21% if wages stay the same. That's 30.21% of wages plus 30.21% sales tax. Plus they get to increase it each year whenever they think they need more for the unfunded mandates including SS, SSI, MediWho, unemployment, probably lots of other benefits.
Bill section 2(e): "(3) It is sound tax administration policy to foster administration and collection of the Federal sales tax at the State level in return for a reasonable administration fee to the States; and (4) businesses that must collect and remit taxes should receive reasonable compensation for the cost of doing so."
Sounds to me like they want to bribe the several States and the employers to collect the tax at the "source" for them.
Add: More ghoulish provisions incoming.
Am I wrong in judging that this is a bait and switch that takes power out of the hands of the sovereign citizen and puts it in the hands of the people who leech off them?
The point here is that by insisting on "revenue-neutrality" the abolition of the IRS and the creation of an "STB" instead is just shuffling around the initials and leeching just the same amount, except that the leeches are much better prepared to take more than they are in the current known situation. A Great Reset, if you will. I have been watching for this moment for many years and this is the signal that it's around the corner. Very bad news if it goes any further. We must all govern ourselves accordingly.
The Fair Tax Act might start high, but over time it could begin to reduce. Because a consumption tax can not be evaded by prostitutes, drug dealers, bank robbers, Wall Street elitists, etc. There are probably hundreds of billions of dollars not being captured in the "Shadow Economy". Once those dollars are repatriated we can shift the tax burden off the middle class and make it equitable for all.
Why would anyone sign onto a tax that "could begin to reduce" when they could just abolish the IRS and replace it with nothing?!
As a libertarian, why should I disrupt the lives of others with the power of the federal guns for taxes that don't benefit me when the power of the federal guns has been immobile to stop them from the crimes you charge them with?
As a libertarian, why should I look with disdain on the Shadow Economy that is so good at evading control by the feds? I have no reason to intervene in a war between those two spheres to the degree they are darkness, and the light does not fight itself.
Frankly, my dear, you write like a bot.
I can only conclude that Q caused the FairTax to be promoted here so we could shake out another round of big-guv shills. That's total sarcasm BTW. The truth is that God puts evils in our path so we know which of us are approved by him, and the principle there is the same as the sarcasm.
Baby steps got us here, might need them to get us out.
FairTax is no baby step, it's the step over the cliff.
Baby step would be reducing federal income tax to zero over ten years leaving SS/Med for later. Everyone could agree on that as a step forward but the leeches who will be looking for work. Nobody puts a bill for that up every two years like this evil. Nobody shills for it either. It's just common sense that I can think of in ten seconds. I would just call up Ron Paul for the details of how to tell the feds to figure out how to say they're paying for things in the meantime (they don't actually pay for them, but they have a commitment to say they do). Not like the first thirty trillion debt destabilized us any.
I don't disagree.. Just putting some numbers out there for frens. I still think 10 or 15% could work. Then we could actually do the work of running our lives.