For all the talk of tax-and-spend liberals, history tells us it’s both parties who favor taxing and spending. The difference between Republicans and Democrats is more a matter of who pays the taxes and how the money gets spent.
Knowing that, it’s no surprise to learn that it’s Republicans, not Democrats, who have proposed a bill that would implement a 30% national sales tax. And who vows to save the consumer from these tax-and-spend Republicans?
Joe Biden told a Philadelphia gathering this week that they shouldn’t worry about a 30% national sales tax that would affect diapers, shoes and other items Americans purchase every day. Biden was addressing the Republican proposal advertised as the “fair tax” that “would replace the income tax system and do away with the IRS,” according to Forbes.
“It’s not going to happen. I’m going to veto the sucker,” Biden told the Philly crowd.
Representative Buddy Carter (R-GA) introduced the FairTax Act, a version of which has been floating around since at least Bill Clinton‘s days in the White House. The proposed legislation seeks to eliminate income taxes, payroll taxes, and estate and gift taxes, along with the IRS. The 30% sales tax would fund the government instead, a boon to the ultra wealthy.
The plan is essentially a flat tax instead of a graduated income tax, and would hit lower income families much harder, except that, admittedly, the sales tax on a Ferrari would be higher than the sales tax on a Honda Accord.
Biden also promised that his veto pen would be ready for other suckers, like proposed cuts in Medicare and Social Security — should they make it all the way to the Resolute Desk. But the threat to veto the national sales tax, while a useful political jab, appears unlikely to be needed. Experts believe the FairTax Act has little chance of getting as far as the Oval Office.
