National sales tax?

All you supporters of a national sales tax may be sorry you ever thought of the idea. This Washington Post story discusses how, for the first time, the idea is getting serious attention on Capitol Hill.
But it’s not what all the supporters of such a tax had envisioned.
Last year, I met with Thomas Wright, who is the national spokesperson for the “FairTax,” another clever name for a national sales tax. His idea was for Washington to enact a sales tax of 23 percent on virtually everything you buy — but to do it IN PLACE of just about every other tax.
It would replace personal and corporate income taxes, unemployment tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes, estate tax, gift tax, the much-debated alternative minimum tax, as well as taxes on capital gains, lottery winnings, self-employment earnings and probably a lot of other things I can’t think of. The only things it wouldn’t replace are federal excise taxes and tariffs.
The plan being circulated in Washington right now would add a sales tax of about 25 percent IN ADDITION to all these other taxes. This is because reality is finally dawning on a lot of people. We can’t add national health-care reform on top of trillion dollar deficits without getting ourselves into serious trouble.
So what do you think? Would you like to pay an extra $50,000 for that $200,000 house? Would the “benefits” of national health care make up for this?
I haven’t gotten hold of Thomas Wright, but I’m guessing he would be aghast. His idea was to repeal the 16th amendment, making the income tax illegal again.
Silly idealist. As any old-timer who bought into the arguments for a “temporary” state sales tax 70 years ago to help people through the Depression knows, governments never repeal the right to a tax once they have grabbed it.
But if you want to really destroy economic recovery and hurt the poor while you’re at it, add 25 percent to the price of everything.