News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:A National Sales Tax Is a Terrible Idea by verdverm on Monday January 23, 2023 @09:23PM (#34498297)
Economists generally agree that a consumption tax is much better for society than income tax, when they can separate their decision from politics. It's simpler and fairer, while also reducing the lobbing and corporate donations that plague our government

This is a good discussion on the complexities IRL and in transition https://www.brookings.edu/on-the-record/the-pros-and-cons-of...

Re:A National Sales Tax Is a Terrible Idea by moistly on Monday January 23, 2023 @11:27PM (#34499264)
Consumption taxes penalize the poor, who spend most of their money on goods, and benefit the wealthy, who spend most of their money on investment.

> Flat consumption taxes are regressive (shift the tax burden to the less well-off). The ratio of tax obligation to income tends to shrink as income increases because high-earners tend to consume proportionally less of their income. An individual unable to save will pay taxes on all his income, but an individual who saves or invests a portion of his income is taxed only on the remaining income.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumption_tax

Re:A National Sales Tax Is a Terrible Idea by verdverm on Monday January 23, 2023 @11:59PM (#34499500)
First off, wikipedia has biased opinions posing as facts

Second, read the link I posted. Under a simple consumption tax, those at the lower end would pay more as a percentage of income. However, a system can be designed to alleviate this, much like earned income tax credits.

Think beyond the shallow talking points. Not even mentioned is the impact on the accounting industry, which currently has a labor shortage. Our current tax system is overly complicated and has perverse incentives. We should be considering many alternatives instead of writing them off based on shallow thinking

Re:A National Sales Tax Is a Terrible Idea by mcmoebius on Tuesday January 24, 2023 @12:17AM (#34499664)
"wikipedia has biased opinions posing as facts"

but yet to bolster your position, you link the brookings institute. lol

Re:A National Sales Tax Is a Terrible Idea by verdverm on Tuesday January 24, 2023 @01:21AM (#34500101)
The particular link does not have significant bias and is a good conversation despite where it is published. Wikipedia is plagued by manipulation

Perhaps try reading it, make meaningful statements or comparisons to further the debate, and not end your rebuttals with a childish "lol"

You're still engaging in shallow thinking otherwise