Rep. DeMint Recomends “Fair Tax” Like Alternative To Presidential Tax Commission Suggestions
WASHINGTON — Unmoved by tax reform plans from President Bush’s tax panel, Republican Sen. Jim DeMint has proposed his own plan that calls for an elimination of federal income, capital gains and estate taxes.
It also calls for an 8.5 percent federal sales tax tacked onto current state sales taxes.
For South Carolina, that would mean as much as 16 percent sales tax if the state legislature approves a proposed state sales tax increase from 5 percent to 8 percent.
Tax reform is all talk for now, but ideas at the federal level are approaching the president’s desk for consideration. Bush’s tax panel will file a final report to the Treasury Department by Nov. 1.
If this is the way DeMint is thinking he should throw his hat in with the FairTax crowd. His proposal seems fairly identical to what they’re proposing.
Regardless, this opposition to the “let’s shuffle some things around and call it good” mentality is exactly what is needed right now. “Shuffling things around” doesn’t relieve Americans of the burden they spend in time away from their families and leisure time activities under our current system, not to mention the amount of time, money and effort businesses spend trying to keep up to snuff with the ever-changing tax code.
