Comment: Dear Sirs: I support a National Retail Sales Tax, to be collected by the states rather than the Federal government, with rebates to every household to offset the purchase of necessities. I suggest that the rebates be equal to the amount of tax a same-size household with a poverty-level income would pay in NRST. The NRST should replace all individual and corporate income taxes (corporations don't pay taxes, they only collect them), all Social Security taxes (we already know the "trust fund" is a fraud), and all Federal excise taxes (like the Spanish-American War tax on telephones). Taraiffs should be the only taxes collected directly by the Federal Government. I oppose a Value-Added Tax (VAT) because it involves too much book-keeping, and isn't visible to the retail purchaser. At the same tax rate, a VAT collects exactly as much as an NRST, but costs more to administer and enforce. Collecting the tax at the retail level involves fewer business establishments, while letting the retail customer know how much tax is being paid. Joseph P. Martino 905 South Main Ave. Sidney, OH 45365 |