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Article:
A National Sales Tax: The Time is Now by: Nader Ghali 'If you elect me, Senator Katherine Laforge, as your next president, my National Sales Tax will give you back true equity in the share of taxes you pay. You will no longer be the utilitarian taxpayer for the elite.' 'Hulagu's Web – chapter 10' The heroine in 'Hulagu's Web' is a true believer in Frank Chodorov's compelling view that income tax is the root of all evil. Why, under our current National Income Tax system, do billions in real income earned by criminal endeavors, the underground economy and illegal aliens go totally untaxed? Why are the complexities of our tax code so onerous that only the wealthy can afford the resources, knowledge and ability to truly access expert advice on how to legally minimize their taxes? The answer to these questions is that the everyday wage earner with his passiveness, unquestioned acceptance, and fear of the taxation process has become politically impotent. His naïve trust in the wisdom of his elective officials has made him the elite's utilitarian taxpayer. It's time to move the proposal to implement a National Sales Tax out of the realm of political theatre and into reality. The idea bobs up and down during key election years but continues to meet stiff resistance inside the corridors of power. Clearly a vast lobby of Washington's politicians, lawyers and accountants with special interests seem intent on declaring such a proposal 'dead on arrival' before giving it a fair hearing. However, soon that may change. No less an authority than Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has recently endorsed a National Sales Tax. While Mr. Greenspan has been known to easily roil financial markets by his cryptic oracles on the state of the economy, his stance on a National Sales Tax rings resoundingly clear. Speaking before the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, Mr. Greenspan said he believed that a consumption tax—such as a National Sales Tax—could spur economic growth. One of his most important arguments was that a consumption tax could lead to increased savings. The reason for this is obvious. If, instead of taxing income, the government taxes spending—then consumers will think twice about what they spend their money on. Greenspan made it clear that completely eliminating the current income tax with a consumption tax would meet with tremendous opposition and involve a great deal of complex transitional issues. It's also clear that the loopholes in the current, convoluted tax system continue to benefit the elite and industries. The proposal for a National Sales Tax is part of the President's push for a complete overhaul of the tax system, a pledge he made in his re-election campaign. It's clear that no idea is off the table, and this one certainly has a long pedigree. Mr. Greenspan noted that the National Sales Tax was considered back in '1986
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