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Maggie's avatar

The Fair Tax thing is never going to be law, so let them hawk it. Let them vote on it, and let pass the house. And then, tell the American people that their their weekly grocery bill will go from $100 to $130. That the new phone they need for work will but hundreds of dollars more. That a new F150 will cost $10,000 more.

All of the Democrats voted against it though because they thought it was too onerous for working families and small business and senior citizens, but the Republicans thought this was the best way to fix the deficit.

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SoCal's avatar

I agree. I think this will be a great opportunity for the Damocrats to hone simple and powerful messages about for whom the Republicans are really working.

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EnderAK08's avatar

It's funny to watch Grover Norquist et. al bemoan an idea they've spent literally decades pushing. And if I'm not mistaken (though maybe I am), it would apply to rent and mortgages too. So everyone's gonna see a 23% cost-of-living increase across the board. At least everyone who has a mortgage or rent (the vast majority of people).

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knowltok's avatar

No way the Republicans would push it through clean. It'd exclude mortgages, and maybe food. They'd fuck over renters in a heart-beat though. Probably some other loopholes that would benefit the wealthy.

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EnderAK08's avatar

Exemptions would wreck the federal budget even more than passing it on everything would wreck the federal budget, though I guess they wouldn't mind.

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Colleen Kochivar-Baker's avatar

I'm sure the GOP would consider a 75% luxury tax on planes, yachts, and capital gains. HAHAHAHAHA

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Maggie's avatar

"Let's campaign on how terrible inflation is, get elected and then raise the cost of living by 30 cents on the dollar! What could possibly go wrong?"

This is their next Dobbs.

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EnderAK08's avatar

Republican: "Do you wanna live in Europe, where there's a 25% sales tax on cars?"

Voters: "NEVER"

Republican: "Okay, how about a 30% effective tax!"

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Kate Fall's avatar

I would imagine this is all on top of the existing taxes that the individual states have on sales. NY is already at 4% sales tax on cars.

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EnderAK08's avatar

Yes, there's no way to pre-empt state-level taxation without a constitutional amendment. What's amazing about the National Sales Tax proposal is that it would raise less revenue than we currently are but hit the average American much harder.

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JF's avatar

Another amazing feature is it will hit the poor much harder than the rich. Sales taxes are regressive and that’s the appeal to the Reverse Robin Hood Republicans. They know their base is too ignorant to catch on.

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EnderAK08's avatar

What's funny is the base will catch on after the fact.

Ford F-150 base MSRP: $34,000

With a 23% tax increase: $41,820

That $9,000 will get added to plenty of loans, which will also be taxed at 23%, unless you met a car dealership crazy enough to eat the coast.

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Keith Sherman's avatar

It's not a 23% tax, it's a 30% tax. More Republican distortions (not directed at you EnderAK08).

Item costs $100, plus 30% tax = $130.

Conversely, 30/100 = 30%

BUT 30/130 = 23%. Basic dishonesty.

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Amy H.'s avatar

Thank you. I have been trying to determine which number they really mean, or if they changed it. Dirty dealings are totally on brand.

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Cheerio's avatar

Sales tax on food and medical care is one of the cruelest regressive taxes that exist.

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TW Falcon's avatar

Wow, a two-fer! No wonder why they love it.

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GlenD's avatar

It's 8+% here deep in the heart of Tex's Ass, depending on what your county's sales tax is. And that's on top of having one of the highest property tax rates in the nation. But if your property is agricultural, your taxes, relative to the rates us city slickers pay, is barely parking meter change.

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Cheerio's avatar

Oh, don't need to tell me-- I live in NY, we have state income tax, state and local sales tax (9%), county tax, property tax, school tax... if it is not taxed, it has an added fee. The only thing not taxed is food (unprepared food) but other things have added sales tax (like liquor, car rentals, airline tickets, hotel rooms, tobacco... soon they will figure out how to tax marijuana.). We even have some cities with income tax (Yonkers, NYC etc.) and that also charge commuter taxes. We are well-versed in the ability for the state to extract -- and they are amazingly efficient at it.

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Maggie's avatar

Voters: "Will it own the libs?"

Republicans: "It will if we pass this and then subsequently choose to forgo European style social safety nets"

Voters: "You had me at no socialism!"

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Independent CheeseHead's avatar

The real number, if they still (pretended to) want to bring down the debt, will be higher than 30%. Also that’s just the consumer tax, which is at the end of the line, and since COGS are also +30% baseline products go up…to which the 30% + is then added. So I’m (uninformed finger to the wind) estimating we’re talking 50% price increases.

If there’s a slam dunk way to ensure an overnight depression, this is surely it. Although before that, we’ll have a Russia Circa 1917 style revolution when the masses discover that all inherited wealth will be untaxed while daily necessities will cost AT LEAST 50% more.

And before all that, we default and cost of borrowing shoots into the stratosphere making the deficit and HH debt balloon.

My Kevin. What a maroon.

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