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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (5008)	9/23/1998 2:23:00 PM
From: j_b	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

<<Consumption/vat taxes just seem to be more fair. >> Fair is such a fascinating word - if you have no real income apart from welfare or interest payments, consumption taxes don't seem fair. If you actually work for a living, income taxes don't seem fair. Actually, if you have to pay anything, the taxes don't seem fair. Personally, I think consumption taxes are less onerous than income taxes. They provide at least some incentive to save, providing capital availability for business to use for growth, and therefore also lessen the need for government safety nets. They also eliminate much of the ability to cheat (not all of it of course). I don't like VAT taxes, because they are still hidden from the person actually paying - you and me. If we actually could see how much tax we were paying, we might start insisting on smaller government.

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (5008)	9/23/1998 2:28:00 PM
From: MulhollandDrive	Respond to of 67261

Well you also said that no taxes were paid on the real estate transactions you cited and that's just wrong. If the sellers had an excess of 250,000 (500,000 for married) gain, the excess is taxable. What specifically are you referring to when you say "wealth taxes"? Capital gains? We have different tax rates according what category the "wealth" is obtained. I pointed out to you yesterday that the "wealth" accumulated by these individuals was initially taxed when the y earned the income, taxed again when the earned income was invested and produced a capital gain, and yet again when the person dies. Are you advocating another layer of taxes? The only real problem I have with a national sales tax is that is seems somewhat regressive. On a percentage basis it would cost the poor and lower middle class more than the rich. In order to avoid that there would have to be some mechanism for "rebating" the poor the amount of sales taxes paid during the year. Why are you opposed to a flat tax? bp