Hamhock
5/2/2007, 08:24 AM
I started reading the Fair Tax book last night. So far, it makes some pretty interesting points.
I thought I'd provide a chapter by chapter summary for those of you who care but are too lazy to buy it. (if you don't care, get out of my damn thread).
Chap 1
History - Pretty interesting chapter. It is amazing to read about the people's original opposition to an income tax and the amazing low rates and high floors upon which the first income taxes were based.
Chap 2
Withholding - Very interesting. The author makes the argument that we would have a totally different tax system today if it wasn't for withholding. They argue that most people have absolutely no idea how much tax they are paying. They say many people will answer "I didn't pay in any tax, i got a refund", completely oblivious to the tax they actually paid. The author's argument is that we would burn down DC if each of us was required to save for taxes and write one big check for the amount due (even though it is the same amount we pay today) on April 15.
The author also says that a withholding system was first proposed and summarily rejected by the population. The government got people to agree to withholding by forgiving a full year's tax if they would sign up. Thus, the anesthetizing began.
Chap 3
Corporate Tax - He makes the argument that the only tax paying entity is the individual. If a corporation (any business) has a tax burden they will either (a) pass it on to the ultimate consumer (an individual) or (b) decrease the amount of money it distributes to the ultimate owner (an individual).
Overall, so far, i think it is an excellent book and recommend reading it.
the one thing I'm not sure about is the big deal the book makes about the "cost of compliance". They quote some figures about how it costs Americans eleventy brazillion dollars just to comply with the tax system. I'm not sure about this argument since that money doesn't go to the IRS, it goes to tax practitioners and ultimately to private individuals.
Any way....that's my review.
more to come...
I thought I'd provide a chapter by chapter summary for those of you who care but are too lazy to buy it. (if you don't care, get out of my damn thread).
Chap 1
History - Pretty interesting chapter. It is amazing to read about the people's original opposition to an income tax and the amazing low rates and high floors upon which the first income taxes were based.
Chap 2
Withholding - Very interesting. The author makes the argument that we would have a totally different tax system today if it wasn't for withholding. They argue that most people have absolutely no idea how much tax they are paying. They say many people will answer "I didn't pay in any tax, i got a refund", completely oblivious to the tax they actually paid. The author's argument is that we would burn down DC if each of us was required to save for taxes and write one big check for the amount due (even though it is the same amount we pay today) on April 15.
The author also says that a withholding system was first proposed and summarily rejected by the population. The government got people to agree to withholding by forgiving a full year's tax if they would sign up. Thus, the anesthetizing began.
Chap 3
Corporate Tax - He makes the argument that the only tax paying entity is the individual. If a corporation (any business) has a tax burden they will either (a) pass it on to the ultimate consumer (an individual) or (b) decrease the amount of money it distributes to the ultimate owner (an individual).
Overall, so far, i think it is an excellent book and recommend reading it.
the one thing I'm not sure about is the big deal the book makes about the "cost of compliance". They quote some figures about how it costs Americans eleventy brazillion dollars just to comply with the tax system. I'm not sure about this argument since that money doesn't go to the IRS, it goes to tax practitioners and ultimately to private individuals.
Any way....that's my review.
more to come...