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To: Knighty Tin who wrote (26431)	3/28/2005 9:56:03 AM
From: Tommaso	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

I have to admit that a sales tax appeals to me because it does give you some control over how much tax you pay. However, there is no question that a value-added tax is extremely hard on very poor people. At the present moment, France has never been so prosperous in all its history as it is now. But at the present moment, the city of Paris may have more beggars working the subway entrances and steps of churches than it has had in the last fifty years. There is something wrong here. In the United States you can get some sort of little fast-food meal for two dollars. The comparable meal in Paris, at least, costs twice as much. There is also an 11 percent unemployment rate. But people who make it above the subsistence line in France are extremely well off on the whole. The average quality of life is better than in the U.S. now.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (26431)	3/28/2005 3:10:44 PM
From: Steve Lokness	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116555

Knighty Tin; Sales tax has problems but I do not agree with your assessment that it need be "screwing the working class". In our state (Washington,) we have no state income tax and our sales tax does NOT apply to food or medical cost - including drugs. What it does though is forces those upper income people that pay NO federal income tax, because of manipulative practices, into contributing - like when they buy a million dollar home for instance. Unlike the federal tax code, you do NOT escape paying taxes in Washington. steve