Widdekind, sales taxes are not regressive; they're simply not progressive.
[A general sales tax can be drafted to be somewhat more favorable to lower income earners. We could waive the sales taxes upon items that are a greater proportion of lower rather than higher income families purchases. Sales taxes can also be waived for capped threshold amounts of selected items sales transactions. Those capped threshold amounts should be annually cost of living adjusted.
For example sales taxes could be waived upon non restaurant and non-catered food sales, for the first $6 of each single trip on public mass transportation and for the first $75 of a residential units monthly utility bills].
I generally disagree with Huckabee but I do agree that a general sales tax is among the simpler and more equitable tax revenue producing methods employed by modern industrial nations.
Theres no such thing as a fair tax but some methods are more equitable than others.
To whatever extent feasible I advocate shifting from taxing net incomes to a general sales tax. I am dubious of both the political and economic feasibility of replacing our entire, (both individual and corporate) income tax revenues with a consumption tax. It is certainly financially imprudent to attempt it in a single step.
I advocate we prudently transform our major sources of tax revenue simultaneously and incrementally. After some incremental step, (if Im correct) our general sales tax will approach an unacceptable rate. Well have a federal sales tax and our remaining flatter and lesser tax rates upon net incomes. Otherwise (if Im incorrect) our taxes upon net incomes will be entirely replaced.
Respectfully, Supposn
